The Gift Of Living Forever
by The World Of Rabbitleap
Summary: The once magical and life-filled Fiore turns to a magicless and lifeless place after a new ruler comes to power. The Magic Council was knocked to the floor once more, every magic shop was torn down, and worst of all: the guilds were smashed and the members were killed. Thirteen mages still stand after ninety years without magic or using a single drop of it. (After Tartaros Arc)
1. Fated Meeting?

**I've rewritten this without the author notes and grammar errors!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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><p>A blonde woman looked at the flower beds and sighed. <em>It's not as magical as it was ninety years ago<em> She continued to walk on and into a busy market street. She walked through the crowd to see a pink-haired man kneeling in front of a dark blue-haired boy. "Natsu?" The blonde-haired whispered herself.

She closed the distance between them and the pink-haired man got up. The clothing he wore looked very familiar to the woman, but was unsure if it was the same man she knew ninety years ago. "Um, Natsu?" The blonde-haired woman was directly behind him.

He stiffened and said, "Lucy."

A smile began to form on her face. The man turned and he didn't seem to have aged a bit. "I'm so glad to see you! You haven't changed a bit in the past years," Lucy cried out happily.

"You haven't either. It's great to see a familiar face again," Natsu grinned like he used to.

Lucy peered behind Natsu to see a young boy with a sheathed sword at his side. "Natsu-nii, do you know her?" The boy grabbed the hilt of his sword.

"Of course. Tyson, this is Lucy. Lucy, Tyson," Natsu introduced the two.

"It's nice to meet you, Tyson," Lucy gave him a smile.

Tyson only gave a suspicious glance at her. "Natsu, what happened to you? I haven't seen you since forever," Lucy questioned, ignoring the stare.

"I was on the run for about ten years and was fighting off knights. I hid after that for quite a while and haven't used that since then," Natsu explained.

I haven't used that either in quite a while," Lucy sighed.

They were silent until a loud roar caused panic in the crowd.

Natsu stiffened and said, "It couldn't be."

"This brings some memories back," Lucy said nervously.

"Let's go," Natsu ran through the crowd with Lucy and Tyson going after him.

They his behind a corner of a building. They could see three dragons with knights surrounding them. "Those knights are hopeless against three dragons," Natsu peered.

"Natsu, the red dragon fits your description of Igneel," Lucy told him.

"I know, that's why they're hopeless," Natsu told her.

Tyson shoved his way between the two only to see three dragons. "I must be dreaming," Tyson said as soon as he saw the three dragons, unable to believe what his eyes saw.

They quickly shoved him behind them, shushing him and warning about how good of hearing dragons have. Natsu then picked up a pebble. "Let's see how well this will work," Natsu said and Lucy backed away, taking Tyson with her.

Natsu set his hand on fire and Tyson said, "Stop, you're going to burn your hand!"

Natsu ignored him and threw the rock right straight at the red dragon. Moments passed and the rock hit its target. Igneel ate up the flames and began to fly up with strong wing beats after moments of thought. The other two dragons followed and they flew off. The flames that covered his hand died off. Tyson raced up and looked at Natsu's hand, seeing no injuries. "Why?" Tyson asked, seeming confused.

"It seems that there is some explaining to do, but I'll tell you on the way," Natsu knelt down and Tyson clambered onto his back.

Natsu and Lucy nodded and they ran off around the destroyed area.

They ran through the forest and Tyson started. "Please tell me, why don't you use a sword when we practice?"

"The reason is that I don't know how to use a sword. I took the techniques from watching one of my friends long ago. Though, instead of using a sword, I had magic," Natsu explained.

"What kind of magic do you use?" Tyson asked.

"Have you ever heard of 'Salamander'?" Natsu countered.

"Well, yeah. They say he was legendary so many years ago! He was in the most famous guild called Fairy Tail and he weld a very ancient magic called dragon slaying magic," Tyson told Natsu.

Tyson kept going with details and Natsu and Lucy shared an amused glance. "Tyson, can you tell me, what was his name?" Lucy asked the boy.

"I tried to find his name, but no book says his name. Though his description is pink hair and a white, scaly scarf- hey wait! Natsu-nii, you fit that description!" Tyson immediately realized.

"Well then, it seems this one has never noticed his teacher is the famous 'Salamander'," Natsu sighed and sniffed the air.

Lucy looked at him, expecting an answer. "We're close," Natsu told them and they began to go through the forest cautiously.

They entered a clearing, seeing three dragons sitting.

Tyson's eyes grew large. "You took your time, Natsu," A low voice of one of the dragons said.

Natsu gave a small smile. "Sorry, Igneel. I'm a bit rusty with using the magic you taught me," Natsu said.

Tyson was let down from Natsu's back. "Natsu, I believe you are wondering about the other two dragons with me. This is Grandine and Metalicana," Igneel introduced the two dragons.

Natsu couldn't believe a single word his father said. "Igneel, I want you to meet my friend, Lucy and my adopted brother, Tyson. Lucy, Tyson, this is Igneel, my foster father," Natsu introduced his own friends after studying the three dragons.

"A real dragon. I can't believe I get to see your father," Lucy said disbelief.

"I thought dragons were only a fairy tale, but here I am, standing in front of three," Tyson stood, mesmerized the dragons.

"If I were real, then there must have been a dragon to teach me my magic," Natsu told the young boy.

"Does your friend have some type of magic?" Igneel asked.

"She should," Natsu glanced at Lucy.

Lucy took the bag from her back and rummaged through it, founding her golden and silver keys.

"Haven't used them for ninety years," Lucy said and Igneel lay down and his snout got close Lucy.

It frightened her a bit, but the red dragon stated, "You use celestial keys, but not all the golden keys."

"So we found one of two celestial mages in the end," Grandine concluded.

"No, one of seven dragon slayers and one of two celestial mages," Igneel corrected.

"Does he have magic?" Metalicana asked Natsu.

Natsu shook his head. "Wait, Igneel, would you mind explaining something? Do you mean that there are others that we know that haven't aged a bit?" Lucy asked, putting her keys back.

"Yes, there's exactly thirteen of you with immortality," Igneel answered.

"Then why did you attack the capital?" Tyson asked, no longer mesmerized of the dragons' greatness.

"We were hoping that if we acted that we were attacking, one of the thirteen would notice," Metalicana explained.

"It seems that Salamander and bunny-girl are here also," A voice sounded from behind the three.


	2. Training

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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><p>"Gajeel," Natsu glanced back.<p>

"You were in Crocus too?" Natsu asked.

"When you threw that flaming rock, I was unsure if you around, Salamander," Gajeel smirked.

"Is he your enemy, Natsu-nii?" Tyson grabbed the hilt of his sword.

"Your sword is useless on him. He'll eat it whole," Natsu told the boy.

Tyson was confused, but Natsu lit his fists aflame. "There they go again," Lucy sighed and backed away.

Natsu and Gajeel attacked eachother head on. Flame and metal met. Their fight continued before Igneel spat fire everywhere. Tyson prepared the flames to reach him, but the heat was beginning to die away. Natsu ate them up without hesitation."Salamander, this fight isn't over," Gajeel was covered in iron and black shadow-like stuff came out of him.

"This fight's going to get destructive, so you better brace yourself," Lucy warned Tyson.

They watched as Natsu was covered in flame from head to toe and lightning came flashing from him. The young boy was so confused. At this point of what had happened to both dragon slayers. "Natsu's using his Lightning Flame Dragon Mode. As for Gajeel, he's using Iron Shadow Dragon Mode. This is something that the first generation can get as close to Dragon Force as possible," Lucy explained.

"Exactly how powerful is Natsu-nii?" Tyson asked.

"Enough to destroy quite a few towns. Well, that was how powerful he was back then," Lucy sighed.

"Is it the same with Gajeel?" Tyson watched the two battle.

"I'm not sure about Gajeel alone, but with Natsu, I bet they could destroy Crocus, over four towns, and still have enough energy to fight eachother," Lucy gave a small, nervous laugh as Tyson sweatdropped.

The fight ended quickly. Natsu was kneeling and panting. "Not so great, Salamander. What have you been doing for the past ninety years?" Gajeel asked.

Natsu didn't answer. "It seems he's not at his greatest. He'll need some training like me," Lucy smiled.

"It seems that you'll need some training, Natsu," Igneel gave a small laugh.

Natsu seemed to get annoyed. "Natsu, you're not the only one that needs the training. Plus, you and Tyson could train together," Lucy called out to him.

Gajeel cracked a smile. "Oi, Gajeel, you may need it too. Plus, you still have another ten friends to find," Metalicana told him.

"If you go east of here, then you'll find a good spot to train. Come back in a week and maybe we may have found another of your friends," Grandine told them.

The four left the area, and began to travel east. The journey was silent until Tyson asked, "Gajeel, how did you and Natsu-nii meet?"

Gajeel gave a bit of thought before starting. "At one point of time, we were in separate guilds. We had fought then, but I had lost to Salamander. Though, I joined their guild and if I'm correct, then the last time we teamed up was the Grand Magic Games," Gajeel explained, giving Natsu a small glare.

"Don't tell me you're still mad about that," Natsu eyed him.

"Pushing me in a cart, sending it off, and knowing that I had motion sickness? Of course I'm still mad about that!" Gajeel growled.

"That was ninety years ago! How can you hold such a grudge for so long?" Natsu threw back.

"Can I ask; what is the Grand Magic Games?" Tyson was quite curious.

The three were surprised by the question. "Well, the Grand Magic Games was one way of getting your guild to be the strongest. It was mostly made for fights and your abilities. Of course our guild, Fairy Tail, was the strongest in the last Grand Magic Games. Though, that was the last time that..." Lucy trailed off and it went to utter silence.

"Please continue," Tyson urged.

Natsu took over, "The beginning of the end of the magic world was when the eclipse gate was opened and seven dragons were let out in Crocus, creating havoc. If it weren't for me and my connection with Atlas Flame, we would have all died there."

"Isn't that why Lucy said 'this brings back memories'?" Tyson questioned.

Lucy nodded. Gajeel continued, "After that, the nine demon gates struck. This was the second stage end. If it weren't for us, we would have lost magic from FACE. We had gotten to enjoy the magical world a bit more."

"I've read about that! It said in one book that the guild 'Fairy Tail', the strongest guild in Fiore, were the saviors for once. Of course, other guilds helped, but Fairy Tail mages were the true heroes," Tyson said happily.

"I have to ask, did any of the books have the specific heroes in it?" Gajeel asked.

Tyson thought and then finally said, "If I remember correctly, it was Natsu Dragneel."

"I hate to tell you, but that's incorrect," Natsu told him.

"Why?" Tyson asked him.

"Natsu usually was the hero, but in this case, he had many help him this time in the battle. The true heroes in the battle were Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel. They were the ones standing against E.N.D. until the very end," Lucy explained, but continued, "The final stage was the king and princess of Fiore were assassinated and the crown was given to the assassin. He then ordered the knights to cover every trace of magic and there shall no longer be in a country filled with magic. At the beginning of the assault, I escaped into the forest with Happy dying in my hands. His last words were 'I wish that this world was like it once was'."

Silence fell between them. Gajeel wore a sad expression. Natsu's bangs covered his eyes. Lucy seemed to be on the verge of crying. "Why so sad?" Tyson finally said.

"Tyson, at one point of time, we were all so happy. I wish that one hundred and four years ago, Igneel never left me in the first place. I could have lived with him peacefully in the forest," Natsu told him and Tyson's eyes  
>widened.<p>

"I wish one hundred and four years ago that I continued to be with Metalicana and live peacefully also," Gajeel admitted.

"I wish that one hundred and four years ago that my mom never died and I continued to live with my mom and dad peacefully. That's what we mean by 'how it used to be'," Lucy told Tyson.

The two dragon slayers nodded in agreement. They weren't paying attention since Lucy bumped into someone. Lucy fell back, but Natsu caught her before she fell to the floor. "Natsu-san, Gajeel-san," A blonde-haired man said, quite surprised. Standing next to him was an equally shocked short black-haired man.

"Sting, Rogue," Natsu acknowledged the two as Lucy got back onto her feet.

"You know these two, Natsu-nii?" Tyson asked.

"Well, tell me. Would you happen to know the two from your studying?" Natsu asked him.

Tyson took moments of examination before said with shock, "This can't be the twin dragons of Sabertooth!"

Gajeel and Natsu gave a small laugh. "You two had fought them in the Grand Magic Games. It's said that the twin dragons looked up to you two," Tyson was now bewildered.

"Well, it seems that we're still in the history books," Sting smirked and then turned to the two dragon slayers and said, "How about a small battle to see who's still stronger?"

"I'm going to have to refuse. I haven't used magic in quite a bit," Natsu shook his head.

"He's already lost to me earlier," Gajeel explained and Natsu gave him a hard stare.

"Exactly how long is 'quite a bit'?" Sting questioned.

"About eighty years," Natsu told him.

Sting was unreadable. "No wonder you lost to me, Salamander!" Gajeel laughed.

"Watch, by the end of this week, you'll be on your hands and knees begging for mercy," Natsu threatened.

Lucy laughed. "I heard that people had seen dragons flying into the forest," Rogue spoke up.

"Yeah, it was Igneel, Grandine, and Metalicana. They had sent us east to train for a week," Natsu explained.


	3. The Magicless Knights

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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><p>"Natsu-san, can we just have one battle," Sting pleaded.<p>

"Salamander will fight you," Gajeel shoved Natsu forth.

"Is this revenge for the Grand Magic Games?" Natsu yelped in alarm as he got shoved forth, stumbling a bit..

Gajeel laughed and said, "You better believe it! You'll have to lose to the one that you won ninety years ago!"

Sting attack and Natsu dodged. Tyson was familiar to Natsu's movements and said, "There's no way Natsu-nii will lose to you!"

Sting's hand began to glow and Natsu dodged every hit and Sting got frustrated. "This is easier than dodging a sharp blade," Natsu swiped a flaming foot and made Sting stumbled forward, face first into the gravel path.

Natsu made his way back to where Lucy and Gajeel stood. Sting stood and rubbed his sore face. "I guess using magic is a bit-" Natsu stiffened to here armor.

"The knights!" Natsu said.

"There he is! Natsu 'Salamander' Dragneel! It appears he also has Black Steel Gajeel Redfox, Lucy Heartfilia, and the twin dragons, Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney!" One knight said.

"Get behind me, Tyson," Natsu shoved the boy behind him.

Lucy grabbed her keys out of her bag, Sting, Rogue, Gajeel, and Natsu got into an attack position. "Lucy, I want you to run off with Tyson as far as you can," Natsu told the blonde mage.

She hesitated, but nodded and prepared to run. The knights began their assault. Of course, the dragon slayers didn't use a bit of magic. Natsu skillfully dodged and used his fists to hit the attacking knights. Tyson was amazed at the dragon slayer's skills of battling a real enemy. He felt himself getting dragged be Lucy as they ran through the battling mages and knights. "Natsu-nii has amazing fighting skills!" Tyson breathed, excited to learn more.

"Yeah, but when he combines it with magic, it's even better," Lucy smiled as she slowed a bit, but kept a fast pace.

"Really?" Tyson asked.

"You'll learn soon. I believe Natsu's most dangerous battle was..." Lucy fell into thought and Tyson allowed her to think.

"It was either against Future Rogue during the dragon assault in Crocus or the nine demon gates," Lucy finished her sentence.

"How many dangerous enemies has Natsu-nii encountered?" Tyson questioned, wanting to know more.

"You'll have to ask him yourself. I'm pretty sure that he'll-" Lucy stopped to see knights attacking someone.

Lucy stopped Tyson from drawing his sword and she pulled out Loke's key. "Open! Gate of the Lion! I open thee!"

A golden flash and there stood a celestials spirit. "It's been ninety years, Lucy," Loke adjusted his glasses on his face.

"Yeah, but times have changed. For now, take care of the knights," Lucy smiled and the lion spirit's hands glowed.

Loke quickly finished them off and disappeared. "That takes more magic then it used to," Lucy breathed out.

"Lu-chan!" A blue-haired girl came over.

"Levy-chan! You haven't changed a bit like the others!" Lucy called out and the two hugged.

They soon broke and Levy looked at Tyson. "Who exactly is this?" Levy went down to Tyson's size.

"I'm Tyson. Natsu-nii had found me," Tyson introduced himself.

"Natsu?" Levy looked over at Lucy and she nodded. "Then, Natsu's also alive for the past ninety years," Levy said a bit excited.

"Yeah, he hasn't changed a bit, but he's a bit weak with using magic," Lucy bit her lip.

"You said there are others too," Levy told Lucy.

"Yeah, Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue are also alive. We had met three dragons earlier too. They said that we've become immortal. There is suppose to be thirteen of us," Lucy explained.

"You said three dragons earlier. Do you mean...?" Levy had a bit of hope in her eyes.

"Yeah. Natsu finally got to see Igneel again," Lucy gave a small smile.

Natsu skidded in front of them and three knights chased him. "Natsu-nii!" Tyson went forth, but Levy held him back.

Natsu went forth and the knights swung their swords. Natsu dodged the first sword, then the second sword, but the third sword sliced at his arm. Surprise hit Levy to see the sword hit Natsu. "I told you he's weakened quite a bit. He hasn't used his dragon slayer magic for about eighty years," Lucy told her.

Tyson got out of Levy's grasp and pulled out his sword and charged at one of the knights.

Two knights swung their swords in sync and Tyson blocked it with his sword, but only able to see that a third sword went to his other side.

He felt himself being pushed to the floor so he closed his eyes instinctively, not knowing who pushed him. Tyson opened them to see he was under Natsu and his eyes widened. Natsu's left sleeve had a giant cut and in it three cuts marked that one arm. His right arm held only one cut on it. Tyson then realized that his mentor's scarf had fallen off and lay on his stomach. "Get back. That's why I'm not allowing you to fight," Natsu glanced down, his eyes glittered with seriousness and Tyson slowly got up and grabbed his sword and Natsu's scarf. He was with Lucy and Levy again and he handed Lucy Natsu's scarf. At this point of time, Natsu had both hands in flames and was dodging and finally hit one knight, hitting him against the tree. The other two backed away and Natsu finally casted, "Fire Dragon's Roar!"

The two knights stiffened and Natsu's attack hit them directly. "Natsu's been really pushed by magicless knights. I remember ninety years ago when he and the others got in a fight with some knights, he didn't seem the slightest problem going against so many," Lucy gasped, quite shocked.

"I think he's lost his confidence in fighting after living so peacefully," Levy added.

"I-is that true?" Tyson looked at the two ladies.

They both nodded, quite shocked about the facts of the dragon slayer. "Fighting three off pushes Natsu to the extreme. I really never seen his battles, but I this would be like fighting Laxus," Levy told Lucy.

"Or another strong opponent like Gajeel," Lucy agreed.

"Are you saying that Natsu-nii isn't at his strongest?" Tyson asked again.

"That's right. I need a bit of training. I got to beat Gajeel at the end of the week," Natsu told him, Tyson seeing the cuts along his arms.

Levy gave a confused look. "What happened between you and Gajeel, Natsu?" Levy asked quite confused.

"Oh, somehow the two got into a fight and Natsu lost to him. They had both entered their dragon modes, but Natsu lost due to not enough practice," Lucy explained.

"Natsu lost to Gajeel?" Levy looked at Natsu in shock.

Tyson was confused. "I have to ask, why is it a shock to have Natsu-nii lose?"

Lucy gave Natsu his scarf and then knelt down to Tyson's level. "You see, if Natsu gets serious enough, then he can take down probably anyone. Though, he had defeated all the male dragon slayers ninety years ago. Gajeel was the first to meet defeat, then Cobra, and after another seven

years: Sting and Rogue," Lucy explained.

Tyson was still confused. Levy gestured to the other three slayers that were running towards them. "I'll explain later. It's soon to get dark," Lucy got back up to her full height and Tyson watched as Natsu adjusted the scarf around his neck.

Many gave Levy a short greeting, but then they continued as the blue-haired girl decided to tag along with the group.


	4. Natsu Needing The Training

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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><p>They reached the supposed training clearing by dusk and so Natsu lit a fire for them. "Tyson-chan, ask any questions you have since it seems you don't know much," Levy told him.<p>

Tyson thought and finally asked, "Exactly how strong was Natsu-nii?" The question was given some thought by everyone.

"I would have to say that he was able to take down a whole army of those knights with only a small use of his magic," Lucy started.

"He could probably destroy Crocus plus three other towns with him," Levy added.

"Salamander could probably take down a dark guild," Gajeel gave a smile.

"Natsu-san would probably be able to defeat a wizard saint," Sting gave his answer.

Natsu and Rogue gave no answer to the question. "Is it true, Natsu-nii?" Tyson asked the pink-haired slayer.

"How about we tell you stories? Then you can know my true strength," Natsu suggested, avoiding the question.

"Will you? You've kept your past a total mystery!" Tyson got totally interested.

"We'll tell you everything about Fairy Tail, its members, history, and how the guild was like!" Levy brightened.

For most of the night, they told stories about all kinds of things. Tyson was immersed into each story the mages told him. At one point of time, the members had fallen into a deep sleep.

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><p>The sun began to rise and Tyson cracked his eyes open and raised his hands to shield his eyes from the bright sun. He could see that Levy had glasses on and was into a book. A pencil and notebook on one side of her. "Levy, what are you doing?" Tyson grabbed his sword and walked over quietly.<p>

Levy looked up and showed him the cover. "A history book?" Tyson asked and Levy nodded.

"They had gotten most of the facts in history books wrong so I'm hoping that if we ever go back to having a magic world, I plan to destroy every book in every library in Fiore and rewrite all history books," Levy explained.

Tyson got quite interested. "I didn't know that," The boy admitted.

"That's what happens when you've lived over a hundred years. Though, Igneel might know even more than I do," Levy laughed quietly.

"I don't get how dragons can live over hundreds of years," Lucy gave a small frown.

"I didn't know you were awake Lu-chan," Levy told her friend.

"Well, unlike the sons of dragons that can probably hibernate through the whole winter, I wake up early," Lucy sighed.

Levy laughed at the joke, but Tyson didn't get it. "One day you'll understand what we mean by that, Tyson-chan. Especially if you watch Natsu carefully," Levy explained to the confused boy.

He nodded uncertainly. "Levy, I didn't know that you wore glasses," Tyson admitted.

"Glasses? No, these are magic glasses. I'm able to read books at abnormal speeds," Levy explained.

"You had such items?" Tyson asked looking at the glasses on the blue-haired girl's face.

"Yeah, we had all kinds of magical items that we used like pens that allowed you to write in the air," Lucy said with a smile.

All of a sudden, Tyson's stomach growled which made both girls laugh. "I haven't heard such a hungry stomach for over ninety years!" Lucy tried to contain her laughter.

Levy gave a small agreement while she laughed. "It's not my fault that we ran out of Crocus without getting anything to eat," Tyson muttered, embarrassed by his stomach.

"Don't worry. You're stomach will be out-growled by those four as soon as they wake up," Lucy managed to stop laughing and wipe the tears from her eyes.

Tyson nodded slowly, remembering his older brother's stomach growling. "Here, you can stay here while we go get some fruit from the bushes over there," Levy put her notebook, pencil, and book back into her shoulder bag after recovering from laughing and the two went to the fruit bushes that were near the edge of the clearing.

Tyson sat back down to see that the fire had died out and that four figures lay on the floor, all seeming to be in a deep sleep. Tyson crawled over to Natsu to hear that the fire dragon slayer snored quietly as he was relaxed. Tyson put a hand on the pink-haired man's hand to feel it was abnormally warm. The dark blue-haired boy's face was a bit surprised at first, but then realized that it felt relaxing. A shadow fell on top of him and he looked up to see Lucy leaning over them, giving a warm smile. "Warm, isn't he?" Lucy asked.

"Y-yeah," He nodded hesitantly.

"Like this, he's more peaceful than when he's more active," Lucy crouched down, now having a sad smile face on her face.

Tyson gave another nod. "Lucy, what was Natsu-nii like when he still lived in the guild," Tyson gave a small frown as he looked at the peaceful face of his older brother.

"Well, it always seemed he had endless energy all the time. He picked fights with other guild members, but he was also caring and kind; always thinking about others more than about himself. I always thought that he wanted to take care of his friends more than himself, which was most likely why he threw himself into battle first," Lucy told the young boy, a frown still showed on his face.

"Does he still do it?" Tyson asked, curious.

"Well, when he fought, he never allowed you to go into battle yourself since it seemed that he knew your weaknesses quite well and also the opponents' strength. That's why he stopped you and also protected you, not allowing his little brother get hurt so easily," Lucy smiled at him.

"Then why does it seem that he hates Gajeel so much?" Tyson asked, feeling confused.

"Just because the two fight doesn't mean that they still can't be friends. Once, Gajeel told Natsu that there weren't enough room in the sky for two dragons, but then there were seven dragons in the sky. Of course, the lightning dragon fled after attacking the fire and iron dragons, but soon returned and then the poison dragon was dragged out of the sky after a fight with the almighty fire dragon, though had come back for short amount of time before being dragged from the sky once more. He returned and after being freed once more. Now both of them are missing and the sky dragon as well. Though, for now we still have four mighty dragons invading the skies once more," Lucy looked at Natsu and then towards the early morning sky.

"What about the light and shadow dragons?" Tyson asked.

"At first, they turned against the fire and iron dragons, but after a fight, the fire dragon had won and the two bad dragons soon enough followed the examples of the iron and fire dragons. Though, it seemed that all the dragons split apart at one point of time and after many years, it seems the dragons are coming back one by one, ready to start their journey together once more," Lucy answered after moments of thought.

Natsu opened one eye lazily after a small amount of time passed. "I try to sleep, but I hear two voices near me. Why now and here of all times?" Natsu said sleepily.

Lucy gave a small smile to him. "Good morning to you too, Natsu. You know, it's time to eat breakfast so we can start training," Tyson was amazed on how Lucy literally ignored his mentor and started a in a different way.

"Salamander, you still need to train and teach that brat that keeps following you some proper fighting moves," Gajeel sat up from the floor and ran his hand through his long, black hair.

Tyson got up from the floor and spun around and growled, "I'm not a brat following Natsu-nii! Why do you need to make a nickname for everyone instead of using their proper names?" Gajeel's eyes narrowed at Tyson and that's when the iron dragon slayer stood up and overlooked the boy and Lucy looked away from the scene.

"Let me tell you something brat," Gajeel spat at the word 'brat' and continued, "You won't be able to keep up with us if continue to act weak and not strengthen up. Bunny girl may become stronger than you once she's trained enough."

"Natsu, you need to stop them from their argument before Gajeel really kills Tyson," Lucy whispered loud enough for Natsu, Tyson, and Gajeel to hear.

Tyson threw one of his fists again, remembering that Natsu had said that Gajeel will eat his sword whole. Gajeel's hand turned into a metal pole and the two attacked eachother. A flash of lightning which made the two stop momentarily only to feel their fists being held back, even if they tried to push forth.


	5. Training: Natsu vs How Many?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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><p>The lightning disappeared only to see Natsu holding Tyson's fist with a bare hand and Gajeel's metal pole held back with a flaming hand. "Salamander," Gajeel snarled the name.<p>

"Sorry, metal face, but if you want to fight 'the brat that's been following me', then you'll have to fight me," Natsu gave a small laugh.

Gajeel withdrew with a 'tch' while Natsu continued to hold Tyson's fist. Natsu watched as the iron dragon slayer sat back down and scratched at his hair once more. Natsu let go of Tyson's fist and knelt down in front of him, giving a warning, "Don't let Gajeel get to you. If he wants to give nicknames, that's just fine, though he's got worst names for people than what you've got," Natsu ruffled Tyson's hair.

Tyson nodded, feeling a bit guilty of him snapping at Gajeel. "Why the sad face? Don't worry about what Gajeel-san said. Plus, I bet one of us can teach you some type of magic. I bet..." Sting came up to them and looked at Natsu and small smile formed on his face.

"I can hand you over to Erza if she's still alive. She can teach you real swordsmanship plus magic," Natsu smiled a bit more.

The name 'Erza' sent chills down Tyson's back. He learned a bit more than he needed to about Titania Erza. "Come on, Natsu-san, Tyson. We should eat and start training," Sting said with a smile and grabbed one of the pieces of fruit and bit into it.

Natsu passed a fruit to Tyson and took one for himself. Each dragon slayer ate three whole fruits while the normal mages ate one piece. After breakfast, Rogue disappeared, Gajeel went to meditate under a waterfall, Lucy and Levy went somewhere more peaceful, and Natsu was the one being attacked by another dragon slayer and a swordsman. "Attack me seriously," Natsu sighed, seeming to be bored of the attacks of the duo.

"I can't attack you seriously, Natsu-nii," Tyson told him and Sting nodded in agreement.

"Fine, I didn't want to say this, but Tyson, it was I that killed your pet mouse. Sting, I think that Lector is stupid and is even lower than Gajeel's cat," Natsu told them. Both began to growl deeply.

"How dare you lie to me about my pet mouse," Tyson said, purely angered a his older brother who he had been adopted by.

"Natsu-san, your cat's even lower then Lector and his name is stupid," Sting threw back, magic power bursting from him as he said, "White Drive." Natsu smirked, looking satisfied with his work.

Tyson attacked first taking his sword and swinging it a Natsu's face on which Natsu ducked under the blade, only to here, "Receive white justice again, Natsu-san," Once more, Natsu was punched in the stomach, sending Natsu flying back. Frozen in place as a magic circle-like stigmata was shining brightly on Natsu's stomach. Natsu gave a small 'tch' as both of his opponents smiled at their teamwork. They neared him and Sting said, "Haven't been frozen in place for many years now haven't you, Natsu-san?"

"I'm working on my skill with a sword still, Natsu-nii. One day I'll surpass you," Tyson smirked.

"Tyson, you're beginning to sound like Sting so many years ago. Sting," Natsu sent a glare at Sting and continued, "Just because I haven't been frozen like this in many years doesn't mean I don't remember the trick I used!" Natsu moved fast as he punched Sting in the face and then quickly moved to Tyson in which he was punched in the gut.

Tyson dropped his sword and put his arms over the area he was punched in and Natsu quickly used his foot to move the sword out of reach from the boy. "Let's see how strong your fists are, Tyson," Natsu challenged as he shuffled the sword away from himself.

Sting rubbed his face and charged first, using his foot to kick. Tyson came soon after and with his hands in fists. Natsu blocked Sting's attack and threw Sting's foot back, making Sting go clumsily backwards, stumbling before hitting the floor. Tyson was met by Natsu's fist except Natsu's fist was stronger and Tyson hurt his own fist. Tyson backed up to where Sting sat, both seeing Natsu as a strong opponent. After moments of analyzing a voice was heard behind them, "Seems you'll need help defeating Salamander."

They both turned to see Gajeel with him quite wet. Sting smiled, saying, "That'll be fine, Gajeel-san. We may need a bit of help defeating Natsu-san." Tyson turned back and eyed his sword behind Natsu.

Though, the dragon slayer was prepared for the three to go against him. Sting got up from the floor and the three stood tall, trying to overwhelm Natsu. Gajeel attacked, his arm turning into a metal pole. Natsu met it with a flaming fist and Sting sent a fist with a white glow on it at Natsu in which Natsu also met it with another flaming fist. While the two distracted the fire dragon slayer, Tyson quickly got his sword and swung it at Natsu, in which backed away, leaving both opposing dragon slayers to stumble forth and land on the floor and Tyson to trip over those two, landing on top of Gajeel. Tyson felt his clothing soak in the water as he was on top of Gajeel. Sting reeled back from the other two and panted. Tyson immediatly got off of Gajeel as the iron dragon slayer began to twitch. "Salamander, I thought you couldn't handle three knights yesterday, though you can take us down," Gajeel growled at Natsu as he stood there.

"My fighting skill is slowly coming back to me as I fight you three, but I won't be able to use any big moves yet for a bit of time," Natsu explained.

The three just couldn't get Natsu down and that's when Rogue appeared behind the three defeated-looking people that lay on the floor. "Oh, Rogue. I didn't know you were there. Mind if you give us a hand?" Sting turned to greet his partner.

"Come on Rogue. We need all the magic we can get. It seems that Salamander is too good for three opponents," Gajeel got up from the floor.

Rogue looked at the three and then at Natsu's bit of a serious expression and then Rogue stepped forth. "Sure, I'll help," Rogue finally said and Sting smiled as he picked himself off the floor.

Tyson got up himself and readied his sword. Though, he watched as his older brother took a step back from them. A grin grew on Sting's and Gajeel's face as the suddenly pushed off and went directly at Natsu. Rogue held back and Tyson did the same as he watched as Natsu had made a large ball of fire, though neither dragon slayer going toward him stopped. After moments, Natsu threw the fire ball and both Gajeel and Sting got caught in the fire. That's when Rogue went in for an attack, his hand having a black shadow coming off of it. Natsu swiftly dodged, going , Tyson ran towards that area and swung his sword at the dragon slayer, though, he only sliced the air as Natsu had ducked under the sharp sword.

* * *

><p>Hours past and that's when Natsu finally fell to the floor after Tyson had given in and Sting who couldn't keep up anymore. Though, Natsu had left Gajeel and Rogue to panting hard. They gathered around the campfire where Lucy and Levy sat at and Natsu lit the fire before falling asleep in the afternoon sun. Levy and Lucy talked quietly while Tyson looked at his sword closely to see a ruby heart embedded into the hilt of the sword with amber coming off of it in the form of wings, resembling a phoenix. The question came to Tyson of if he had magic himself except it just didn't come to him. After a few hours, Lucy awoke Natsu to eat something. Their small dinner had quite a bit of tension and Gajeel had finally said, "I feel like someone's watching us."<p>

Frowns were on all four dragon slayers as they searched the clearing for a hidden person. Lucy and Levy had serious expressions on their faces and Tyson gave a small laugh, "It's probably no one."

"Tyson, don't under-estimate a dragon slayer's senses," Natsu strictly told Tyson which only the boy frowned.

* * *

><p>Later, Tyson feel asleep next Natsu, feeling the warmth the fire dragon slayer gave. The warmth gave him a feeling of being safe. Tyson wished he could be like this forever without having to feel the danger of someone near and about to attack them.<p>

* * *

><p>Three days passed since they've arrived at the camp. Natsu's clothing had been torn, but Natsu didn't seem to care a bit about it one bit and the cuts on his arms had healed fully, not leaving a sign of being there. Though, his training showed improvement and he was able to fight longer than when he began to train. Lucy had been training with Capricorn, becoming stronger everyday with the use of magic. She was almost able to call out two spirits without tiring herself out. Gajeel was showing quite a bit of improvement also as he battled Natsu out. Gajeel was able to use all of his strongest moves at this point of time, but even though he was as strong as he was ninety years ago, he still denies that he's strong, but extremely weak still. Sting and Rogue can stay in Dragon Force for a bit of time, but not as long as before. Though, both of them showed improvement in training everyday and Sting was able to keep up with Natsu for a much longer period of time as the two dueled. Both Rogue and Gajeel also took their battle to the extremes also, though was a lot less destructive. For Tyson, he was able to use his sword much better and was able to combat without a sword for quite a bit. Natsu had taught him while they both went against Sting, in which Sting thought it wasn't very fair to do that. Though Natsu had decided to ignore his pleas and he had left most of the fighting to Tyson. Natsu only joined in if Tyson was starting to lose against Sting, but that was it. They had all decided that this would be a resting day from all the training and then the day before visiting the dragons would be another rest day. After breakfast, Levy, Lucy, and Gajeel decided to go back into Crocus and see some of the sights. Gajeel only went to make sure that the two wouldn't get hurt there. Sting and Rogue had decided to take a walk through the luscious forest and return later during the evening. Natsu had decided to stay in their campout and sleep for a bit and so Tyson stayed with him. Tyson lay on the floor and looked up at the sky and dozed off a bit, hearing Natsu's quiet snores. "Wake up!" A shout made Tyson's eyes widen and grip the sheathed sword by him.<p>

"Natsu, you better wake up or else the knights will kill you!" Tyson got up from the ground and saw that a ring of knights surrounded them and a scarlet-haired woman stood with armor and sword in hand, seeming to protect the fire dragon slayer while he slept.

"I'll wake him up," Tyson ran over to Natsu's side and shook him violently.

"If you don't wake up, Natsu-nii, we might all die from the knights surrounding us," Tyson told Natsu as the dragon slayer's eyes opened quickly as he made his way up.

"Your finally up, Natsu," The woman said, taking down another knight and added, "I brought the knights to you Natsu. I didn't mean too, but it was an accident. After this fight, you can hit me."

"No, it'll be fine Erza. Though, it seems I can put my training to use," Natsu pressed his back to Erza's.

Natsu looked at Tyson and said, "We'll need your help too, Tyson. We won't be able to take down this many knights ourselves."

"I thought you were able to do so, Natsu," Erza gave a glance behind her.

"That was ninety years ago Erza. I haven't used magic in so much as eighty years," Natsu told her and hit a flaming fist at two knights charging at him.

"Fine. We can catch up after this battle," Erza said as she hit another two knights charging. Tyson swung his sword at another knight, slicing the throat. The two mages split and attacked the group of knights, though after ten minutes of fighting, Natsu was completely surrounded by knights and Erza was unable to help the fire dragon slayer out.

"How are we going to get to Natsu-nii?" Tyson asked Erza, trying to break through the line of knights that surrounded Natsu.

"Don't worry about Natsu. He was raised by a dragon," Erza told him, now using two swords.

A scream of pain came from Natsu which alerted them that Natsu's been cut badly. Tyson's eyes widened and he stilled to see the knights trying to get closer to Natsu. Erza took one after another down, but she wasn't fast enough. Tyson felt a flame beginning to burn inside of him and smoke came off of him. Erza backed off to see Tyson angered deeply and the smoke rising from him. The sword that was in his right hand was covered in 's when Tyson attacked. He flew right to the first knight and with a touch of the blade, he set the knight on fire. Erza shivered and remembered the Tower of Heaven, except this was someone different. Tyson cleared a path and reached Natsu to see cuts from swords all down his back and hands, all seeping blood from the wounds. The fire dragon slayer was unconscious and Tyson stood over him, looking quite protective. Erza ran through Tyson's open path straight to Natsu and made both swords in her hands disappear from sight as she looked Natsu over and his ragged clothing. Erza looked around to see Tyson taking one knight after another down. At this point of time, Tyson was covered in flames, head to toe and it was in the shape of a... PHOENIX!


	6. The 'Titania' of Fairy Tail

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

><p>Erza watched as the defeat of the knights happen around her and Natsu. One by one, the knights fell like dominoes, none standing a chance at all. Minutes went by as Erza realized Tyson was doing this elegantly like the flight of a phoenix, though so, each one was defeated and the flames that surrounded Tyson slowly died away and the boy fell to the floor, most likely from exhaustion. Erza brought Tyson next to Natsu and she disappeared into the forest and reappeared with a large cart. After treating Natsu's wounds, Erza looked at Tyson's sword and saw the ruby heart with the amber wings and Erza gave a small smile before sheathing the sword back into its holder. Tyson slowly opened his eyes, feeling quite exuasted. He saw that Natsu was next to him and Erza sat next to a giant cart. Next to her was his sword. "Ugh, what happened?" Tyson shifted from his position, trying to remember what had happened.<p>

"It seems you've awakened your magic. That sword you have is what brought most of it out. The rest was your heart and seeing Natsu getting defeated. Though, you soon collapsed after," Erza came over.

Tyson soon recalled those moments and nodded and slowly got up into a sitting position. "Aren't you the 'Titania' of Fairy Tail?" Tyson asked.

"I was the 'Titania' of Fairy Tail," Erza corrected and sat down next to Tyson and introduced herself, "I'm Erza Scarlet."

"I'm Tyson," The boy smiled at the woman next to her.

"Do you not have a last name?" Erza questioned.

"I was abandoned and I never learned my last name. I was considering taking Natsu-nii's last name though," Tyson explained.

"You can create your own last name. That's what I did. I never knew mine, but one of my friends there helped me with my last name," Erza explained to him.

"Oh," Tyson gave that some thought.

"You don't have to make one up now, but keep it in mind. The way to think of your last name is features and the type of magic you have," Erza explained to him and Tyson nodded, now understanding what she meant.

They sat talked at bit more about the past and then Lucy, Levy, and Gajeel entered the clearing. Both girls greeted Erza warmly and Gajeel grunted and sat down. Erza and Tyson explained what happened earlier which worried the two girls a bit. Then Levy and Lucy gave Erza an explanation what had happened over the course of a few days. "So, Sting and Rogue are still alive also," Erza said, seeming quite interested and a groan came from Natsu.

"Natsu-nii, are you okay?" Tyson asked, concerned.

Natsu didn't say anything and his eyes slowly opened and immediatly closed them, not used to the sunshine. "Salamander, you still can't defeat those knights," Gajeel smirked.

"Shut up, Gajeel. It's hard to fight when your enclosed in a small circle," Natsu immediately opened his eyes and shot back at Gajeel.

"Natsu, you're weaker than ever and I thought you could take down one of Zeref's demons," Erza stood over him and Natsu gulped as Lucy and Levy sweatdropped.

"That was the past Erza. I haven't used magic at all. Not even to light a fire," Natsu told the scarlet-haired mage quickly.

Erza shook her head in disapproval and added, "You'll need new clothes too. I found an extra pair of your clothes years ago, but I couldn't through them out. I'll get them out for you." Natsu shot a questioning look at Lucy about his clothes and Lucy only shrugged in response.

Erza got them out and Natsu groaned, closing his eyes for moments before sitting up. Evening came and Rogue and Sting returned to see the others eating fruit, except Erza. "What's Erza doing here?" Sting asked, looking at the 'Titania' in horror.

"She has received immortality like the rest of us. Apparently she found Natsu and Tyson-chan here," Levy explained. Rogue nodded and grabbed two pieces of fruit for himself and sat down.

Sting looked at the woman eating a slice of strawberry cake and then sat down with two pieces of fruit, seeing Natsu and Gajeel whispering something that couldn't be heard, even with dragon senses. They ate in silence, some sending glances towards the two whispering dragon slayers and soon after that, one by one, they fell asleep, the fire left to crackle.


	7. Sky Maiden And Fire Mage Of Fairy Tail

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

><p>Another three days past, Natsu was up against Erza and Tyson at this point of time. Tyson was finally able to bring out the phoenix form from him, but it proved useless against Natsu. So, after that getting the phoenix form, he figured out moves in which Natsu ate all of it in which gave Natsu the power to use some of his stronger moves. Now, they all rested. Natsu and Gajeel slept; Sting and Rogue went over to the waterfall and pond; Tyson learned a bit more on how to wield a sword; and Levy and Lucy talked quietly. The day dragged onto night and they ate and slept peacefully. The next morning, they all awoke, ate and began to head out into the forest to where they were supposed to meet the dragons, Lucy, Natsu, and Gajeel in the lead. "Erza, I think I thought of a last name," Tyson told Erza who walked next to him with her luggage pulled along with her.<p>

She gave him her full attention. "My last name is going to be Azarhoma*," Tyson told him.

"That's an interesting last name," Erza nodded her head in approval.

Tyson nodded with pride, his sword hitched as his side, making him feel safer.

* * *

><p>They arrived at the clearing just to see three dragons landing. Natsu and Gajeel stood, but the rest braced themselves from the strong wing beats. As the wind subsided, Sting and Rogue stared in shock to see dragons once more. Erza felt a bit overwhelmed by the sheer size even though she's seen them in the past. Levy seemed in a mixture of wonder and excitement. "Natsu, it seems that you found more of your friends including Sting and Rogue," Igneel boomed.<p>

Natsu nodded and the all three dragons bent their heads down. "We believe that that we found Wendy and a few others. We're going to take you there though. Traveling by foot will take too long and on a train, it seems that you might get into trouble with those knights," Grandine explained.

Natsu climbed onto Igneel, Tyson and Lucy followed him on. Gajeel, Levy, and Rogue climbed onto Metalicana. Erza and Sting climbed onto Grandine while she picked up Erza's cart of luggage. They began to ride and Natsu seemed to enjoy the ride. So did the rest of the dragon slayers, but the others were so scared at first as the flew and in the distance, they could see a familiar city, Magnolia. The dragons landed and allowed their passengers off and Grandine set Erza's luggage down. "So, Igneel, where can we find Wendy?" Lucy asked after they all got off and stretched out.

"Wendy should be where my Edolas self used to live. If I'm correct, another boy lives with her," Grandine answered.

They nodded, seeming to know where that is. "Also, somewhere in Magnolia, a blue-haired man with a tattoo over his left eye should live somewhere there," Metalicana added.

"Let's split up," Erza suggested and the others murmured their agreement and Erza continued, "I'll go to Magnolia. Levy, Sting, and Rogue will come with me. Natsu, you'll go with Lucy, Tyson, and Gajeel to get Wendy."

They nodded and Igneel added, "We'll be waiting here for your return."

The two groups split and Natsu led them to where Wendy now lived. After walking a distance, they saw a familiar boy taking apples down from te trees. He then looked down and after moments, shock covered his face. "Natsu-nii!" The boy called out, a large grin on his face. He raced down the ladder to meet the fire dragon slayer. "Romeo, it's great to see you again," A large grin formed on his face and Tyson frowned a bit.

He never realized that Natsu was looked up by another kid also. "Is Wendy here with you?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah, she's inside, I'll get her!" Romeo raced off to the cottage and entered through the door.

"Natsu-nii, who's he?" Tyson asked quietly. Lucy knelt down next to Tyson and began to explain, "When I had just joined Fairy Tail, Natsu had saved Romeo's father. Natsu knew what it felt like to lose a father so he didn't want Romeo to go through that pain. Ever since then, Romeo had began to look up to Natsu."

"Sorry I didn't tell you. I honestly thought Romeo was going to die after I saw the wounds on him before he left the fight. I wanted to take him with me, but I didn't know how to treat the wounds he had," Natsu explained, a small frown was on his face and added, "But I'm glad he's still around. Unless I would feel haunted for allowing someone important to me die."

Tyson gaped, unable to say another word and Lucy stood back up. Wendy ran out and Romeo followed her. Hope sparkled in her brown eyes as she saw Natsu. "Natsu-san!" Wendy tackled him with a hug.

Natsu hugged her back. "It's great to see you Wendy. I thought I might of not seen you again," Natsu told her.

Tyson looked at the girl that seemed to be at the age of thirteen. Tyson just couldn't help to call her cute. Lucy poked at him and Tyson looked up at her and she shook her head. Tyson understood what she meant and a grunt came from Gajeel. "Gajeel-san's here also," Wendy broke from the hug and looked at him.

Tyson wondered how she wasn't scared of the dragon slayer. "Lucy is too," Natsu told her and a warm smile spread across her face until she looked at me.

"Oh, Natsu-san, who's this," Wendy looked at the pink-haired mage. "That's Tyson. I only found him a few years ago," Natsu explained.

"Natsu-nii, I think we should head back to meet up with Erza and the others," Tyson told him.

"Erza-san's alive as well?" Wendy questioned and Natsu nodded.

"So is Sting, Rogue, and Levy-chan," Lucy added.

"Salamander, we still haven't had our fight yet, may I remind you," Gajeel said, seeming a bit disappointed.

"We can have it later. We could of had it yesterday, but apparently someone had to sleep," Natsu accused the other dragon slayer.

"Hey, I wasn't the only one that was sleeping!" Gajeel shot back. Wendy, Romeo, and Lucy gave a laugh while Tyson had a small smile on his face at the argument.

* * *

><p>*'Azar' means fire in Persian and 'homa' means phoenix or mythical bird in Persian. Together, it's fire phoenix or fire mythical bird<p> 


	8. Prophecies

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

><p>Somehow they arrived back where they were supposed to meet back and Wendy's eyes grew at the sight of Grandine. "Well, look here! It's Wendy," Grandine bent her head down.<p>

"Oh, I missed you so much Grandine!" Wendy told the white dragon.

"Natsu-nii, is the red one your father?" Romeo asked the pinkette.

"Yeah, Romeo. That's Igneel," Natsu nodded, giving a small smile.

Tyson gave another frown. He realized that Natsu had closer connections to the others than to him. _Why can't I get close to Natsu-nii like the others? _Tyson asked himself.

"Why the long face Tyson?" Lucy asked.

"I was actually wondering something," Tyson started.

"I'm listening," Lucy gave him a small smile.

"Why does Natsu-nii have closer bonds to the others, but not me?" Tyson asked, feeling a bit lonely.

"Well, Natsu and I were partners for going on missions. That's how we were back then. Then, Erza and another man named Gray created a team. I might as well say that Happy was within our group too," Lucy looked up at the sky with a smile as she looked back at memories and continued, "And since Gajeel and Natsu are both dragon slayers, they got along in their own way. I already told you the connection between him and Romeo, but Wendy had looked up to Natsu since he was more of an experienced dragon slayer and she wasn't the type to fight much since she didn't have any offensive moves then. Sting and Rogue had looked up to Natsu and Gajeel for a long time and then Sting had declared that he would defeat Natsu in front of everyone, but failed to do so."

Tyson listened, but didn't really get the answer he was looking for. "Though, it was something in Natsu that everyone could see. To our guild, he was the torch of hope for us. He never gave up in a fight, no matter the opponent. No matter how many times he fell, Natsu would get back up on his feet and continue fighting. That's what he did in two of his final fights. No matter how wounded he was, he didn't give in. That's why he's the one that many follow," Lucy explained and Tyson didn't realize how important the famous 'Salamander' really was.

"A bit of a shock, right? You see that many people want to fight him, but that's only because they envy him for his strength. If Gray was alive, he could tell you that himself," Lucy said, a bit saddened when mentioning her friend's name.

"What happened to Gray?" Tyson asked, a bit concerned.

"Gray was one of the first to die in the raid, but he and Natsu would always fight. Gray had told Master once that he would never be able to surpass his own mentor, but Natsu could surpass anyone, even Igneel," Lucy explained to him and Tyson became envious of the mage's words.

"Is that true?" Tyson asked, curious of the answer.

Lucy gave a laugh. "Maybe Natsu did surpass Igneel. Though at the same time, not at all. Though, I believe that he's only a bit behind Natsu. Maybe one day you'll see Natsu's true will," Lucy gave Tyson a smile and looked back to see Romeo behind them.

"Tyson, Natsu-nii's will is something that can surprise everyone. He burns brightly and it seems his flame has dimmed quite bit, making it hard to see in the darkness. I had led Wendy with my own flame until we could once more merge paths with Natsu-nii once more. I believe that everyone has gotten lost in the darkness for quite a bit of time and hopefully one day I'll be able to take over Natsu-nii's job of leading and maybe one day it'll be passed down from fire dragon to human to phoenix," Romeo told Tyson.

"Why would you want to lead?" Tyson asked.

"To lead those near to me through the darkest times. I only want to be friends with you. I find your ability fascinating and I believe Natsu-nii's will has already gotten into your heart," Romeo told Tyson which confused him, but Romeo stuck out a hand and introduces himself by saying, "I'm Romeo Conbolt. It'll be great that we can get along."

Tyson hesitated before he shook hands with Romeo. "I'm Tyson Azarhoma. It would be great to become friends with you," Tyson smiled back.

Lucy smiled sincerely at the two, but then turned to see Rogue and Sting having a bored look and Levy looking a bit nervous. Erza and Jellal talked, a small blush was on Erza's face. "It seems we have five of the seven dragon slayers, one of two celestial mages, and all four of regular mages. Only three more to find," Metalicana counted and Igneel nodded.

"Unfortunately, we don't know the whereabouts of the last three so you'll have to search for them yourselves," Igneel told them and they all gathered closer.

"At this moment, you are all part of a prophecy written long ago. It goes something like this:

_The end of magic has come,_

_Three dragons cast a spell,_

_Granting thirteen a never-ending life,_

_To save the now unmagical world from doom,_

_Together,_

_two from the stars,_

_Seven slayers of dragons,_

_and four others,_

_banding together with the phoenix,_

_as they battle with their force,_

_they meet their long ago enemy,_

_and fate is met..._

Unfortunately, I don't know that the last lines are for this prophecy," Igneel sighed.

"Um, I actually know how the rest of that prophecy does," Levy said sheepishly.

They all turned to her, waiting for an answer. "The rest goes like this:

_when fate is met,_

_it determines the old enemy as friend or foe,_

_if that enemy becomes a foe,_

_then the thirteen shall be destroyed,_

_if enemy becomes friend,_

_then the odds change,_

_leaving a star and slayer of fire dragons as victors of the battle_

Levy finished and most of it made sense, but other part didn't. "Levy-chan, there was a prophecy you read to me long ago. I believe it ties in to this," Lucy told her friend and Levy gave a questioning gaze.

"I don't know which one your talking about, Lu-chan. Could you say that prophecy?" Levy asked.

Lucy looked at the three dragons, seeing approving glances in all three.

Lucy began:

_The two heroes appear victorious at the end of their battle,_

_they begin the start of a new magic era,_

_as they are the strongest mages of all,_

_they restart the traditions they were born into,_

_as the dragons grant the two infinite protection,_

_and they become the bright star and burning fire_

"For some reason, that sounds like Lu-chan and Natsu," Levy observed.

"Maybe, but there's still other possibilities," Lucy shrugged.


	9. Finding The Others

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

><p>"Igneel, who are the last three we're supposed to find?" Natsu turned to the red dragon.<p>

"The last three are Yukino Aguria, Erik, and Laxus Dreyar," Igneel told them.

None seemed to be surprised at the names. Loke appeared and said, "I can help you find Yukino."

"That would be great Loke!" Lucy exclaimed.

After hours of traveling, the dragons alighted and landed on the floor as the sun fell lower from the plains. "We'll stop here tonight. You all must be tired," Igneel told them as they all got off.

"It's been awhile since I've gotten a ride on a dragon," Wendy yawned.

"More like have been in the air," Natsu told her and lay down on the grass tiredly.

Many others nodded in agreement as they began to lay down as well. Tyson lay next to Natsu, hoping to feel comfortable near him.

Tyson felt himself against a very warm heat source. Cracking an eye open, he saw that he was being carried by Natsu. "What's happening?" Tyson muttered, confused on why he was being carried.

"We were attacked. Somehow, we managed to meet Laxus and he's taking those knights on at the moment," Natsu explained.

Looking around, he could see both Sting and Rogue carrying Romeo and Wendy, but the rest were on a run. "What happened to Igneel, Grandine, and Metalicana?" Tyson asked.

"They're going to retrieve Yukino for us," The pinkette explained.

Tyson fell silent, allowing the dragon slayer to concentrate on running.

Natsu soon skidded to a stop to see a flash of lightning. "You're back so soon, Laxus," Natsu commented as he put Tyson back on the ground.

"Surprised?" Laxus questioned dully.

"Not rusty for not using much magic?" Sting asked.

Laxus gave a small shake of his head. "So what have you been using your magic for?" Natsu was now confused.

"Searching for any other Fairy Tail members. What else would I use my magic for?" Laxus told them.

"Yeah, well, it seems we were all on the move," Gajeel told him.

"Anyone been to Magnolia yet?" Laxus asked.

"We were just there, but we didn't see where the guild once stood," Erza had a serious expression.

"I had visited the graveyard there a few months after the attack. It seemed many died including Gray, Lisanna, Macao, Wakaba, Gramps, Juvia, Evergreen, Freed, Bickslow, Droy, Nab, Vijeeter, Kinana, and Gildarts. I had met up with Cana, Alzack, Bisca, and Asuka that day. They're probably all dead also at this point of time," Laxus gave a sigh in grief, sad faces hung onto each face.

"What happened to the others?" Wendy asked, seeming to want to know more.

"Your cat had disappeared, never to be seen again. Natsu, Happy had also disappeared. You all disappeared and a few others had moved away, removing their guild marks and never using their magic again," Laxus answered.

"Happy had died in my hands after I ran away. I carried him to Natsu's house and buried him there. I never made a grave stone, but I was relieved that I was able to bury him," Tears formed at the corner of Lucy's eyes.

"I watched your cat fly off Wendy. She went had gone off on her own probably to the exceed encampment. Lily had saved her by letting her go as we were attacked. Though, Lily had escaped with me, but died after about another twenty years, more or less," Gajeel gritted his teeth.

They stayed there, sadness was hanging around and before long, Natsu's head went up and a strong wind was felt. "Is that...?" Laxus blinked to see three dragons.

"Yup, those are dragons," Natsu gave a wide grin.

The dragons landed and a white-haired girl got off of Grandine.

Laxus stood there, unable to say a thing. "Lucy-sama! Natsu-sama!" Yukino ran over to the group.

"You don't have to call us that, Yukino. You can drop the -sama part from the names," Lucy gave a small nervous laugh.

"It's great to see you Yukino. Though, Sting and Rogue are also here," Natsu glanced back to see Sting and Rogue a bit nervous.

"Sting-sama, Rogue-sama! It's great to see you! I haven't seen you in years!" Yukino ran over to them, looking joyful to be reunited with others from her guild.

"Er, yeah. It's great to see you also, Yukino," Sting rubbed the back of his head nervously.

Rogue stayed silent, which he probably has for the time they've been all together. "All that's left is one dragon slayer, Cobra- er, I mean, Erik, was it?" Wendy scanned them all.

They all looked at Jellal for answers. "When we heard about the guilds being attacked, we decided to remove our guild marks of Crime Sorciere and investigate the situation as normal people. That was the last time I saw Erik. I don't really know where he is. For all I know, he might have been killed or is just wandering," Jellal explained.

"Well, what would be the most visited places he would go to?" Levy asked.

"It was mostly Crocus and the occasional visit to Magnolia," Jellal told her.

"Today's the day that..." Natsu just realized.

"The day that we were attacked and our guild was torn apart. The day when all of Fairy Tail split up and left," Lucy bit her lip.

"We heard about your defeat. They had said with Fairy Tail down, there was nothing for the other guilds to do, but fall also. We had visited Magnolia a week after the attack and met up with Cana, well, one of the orphans took us to where she was after she recognized us. She told us that Fairy Tail's final fighting days were over. She listed off all the missing," Rogue finally said.

**Flashback**

"There's no way Fairy Tail was wiped out!" Sting told Cana who was sitting across a round table from them.

"It's the truth, Sting. The ones that are missing and we have no idea of where they had gone is Lucy, Levy, Romeo, Erza, Happy, Charles, Lily, Laxus, Wendy, and worst of all; Natsu and Gajeel," Cana listed all the missing people.

"You don't know where they are?" Rogue asked.

"No, but there are many that have died also. I was shocked to here that Gray was one of those people," Cana eyes showed sadness.

Sting and Rogue stayed silent. "Even my father, Gildarts, and Master had gotten killed in the fight," Cana added.

"This reminds me of the Tenrou accident," Sting had a sad face on.

"Has your guild been attacked yet?" Cana asked, now concerned.

"Yeah, the day after Fairy Tail had been taken down. We came here after that fight, hoping that we could meet someone to tell us what had happened here. Could you give any battle details?" Sting wanted to here more.

"Gray was the first to die in the explosion of the guildhall. Natsu had eaten the fire that blazed in the building, but troops marched into the guild. We had demanded them to tell us who they were, but all they said was 'Death to magic'. The fight was quite deadly. Many of the guild members escaped, but many others fought on, allowing as many members escape from the area, remove their guild mark, and saying to never show their magic again. I had escaped with Wendy and Romeo with Natsu's help of getting us out, but that was the last time I had seen him. I had left the two at Porlyusica's, but Romeo was badly injured and Wendy had been stabbed quite a few times. I wouldn't recommend visiting them, but I'm sure that Porlyusica will teach a bit to Wendy and then both of them will run and hide at some point of time," Cana told them.

"Why couldn't you had followed the missing?" Rogue asked.

"Laxus, Wendy, Gajeel, and Natsu; all of Fairy Tail's dragon slayers were missing. There's no way anyone else could and the scent is gone. It's been raining here for days," Cana told them, a little irritaded by the question.

"That means other guilds were probably attacked in the last week, not standing a chance," Sting gritted his teeth.

"What do you mean by that?" Cana asked.

"Fairy Tail was always the strongest guild. No other guild could beat them for a long time. No matter how strong their bonds other guilds had or even a wizard saint. The Fairy Tail I know should always gets back up every time they fall. They get angry and then no one can defeat them. Not even our guild can defeat them. That's what it meant to be Fairy Tail. Not for their title, but for their friends that have been troubled," Tears began to show at the corners of Sting's eyes.

"I know, I know that since I was part of Fairy Tail, but the kingdom is killing magic off! It hurt to have my guild mark removed from me! I had pride in the guild I was in! The Titania, Mystogan, Laxus, Master being one of the ten wizard saints, Wendy, Gajeel, and the legendary Salamander, Natsu. So many powerful, kind, and well known people in our guild. They're all gone now! This must have been as fraction of the pain Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy had gone through when they lost their dragon parents! You killed your own, though you didn't have too. Those three may never meet another dragon again!" Cana had rage pulse through her.

Sting backed away, fearing that the woman would attack. "I envied all the others that were stronger than me. I may be the one that used one of the great Fairy Tail spells at the Grand Magic Games, but the credit goes all to Natsu for giving Fairy Tail hope of winning the Grand Magic Games and winning in battle against you. Please, leave now. You may never meet another Fairy Tail mage for the rest of your life," Cana stood up.

Sting let out the breath he had been holding.

"Thanks for the information. I hope that you can find a new family to fill most of what you've lost. Fairy Tail was a great guild, you know. Maybe one day we'll get it back," Sting told her, wiping away tears, turned and walked towards the door.

Cana said nothing and both Sabertooth mages left the orphanage, walking straight to the cathedral, seeing the Fairy Tail graves.

**End Flashback**


	10. Magnolia's Love

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

><p>Sting gritted his teeth from the memory. "Let's go find Erik. I'm sure that he'd be at the graveyard in Magnolia if it's going to be the anniversary of Kinana's death," Lucy suggested.<p>

Agreements followed and they were on their way back to Magnolia. They reached the outskirts of the city once more and the three dragons dropped the mages off. They walked slowly through the streets to the cathedral, dreading the day now. "Ninety years since Fairy Tail's end," Levy muttered.

"The strongest guild, getting beaten so easily," Jellal gritted his teeth.

"The guild I looked up to, destroyed," Sting gave a growl.

"We'll show them the strength of anger of former guild members and onlookers that believed in us. There's no way that they'll get away with ending magic," Natsu growled deeply.

The arrived at the cathedral, visiting each dead member's grave.

They came upon a red-haired man that sat on the ground in front of Kinana's grave, looking like he was about to cry. He wiped his eyes and said, "Natsu, what are you still doing alive?" The man turned, looking like Erik.

"A problem with me not being dead? You could talk to Jellal about it, if you'd like," Natsu gave him a small smile.

Jellal stepped forth and Erik stood, shocked. "Visiting Kinana on the day of her death, the day that Fairy Tail had finally came to its final day. Sounds like you," Jellal said.

"Titania, Gajeel, Yukino, Sting, Rogue, Romeo, Wendy, Levy, Laxus, Lucy, and someone else. Fourteen in total," Erik counted.

"Plus Igneel, Grandine, and Metalicana," Natsu added.

"Reading our minds, Eric?" Jellal asked.

"No, gave up on it years ago. Thoughts have bored me and so I haven't read a mind for over years now," Eric stood.

"I would like to see where our guild once stood," Lucy said, tearing up.

"We'll all go. It seems we have a battle ahead of us anyway," Gajeel agreed.

No objections were made and they made their way out of the graveyard and towards where there once was a beautiful castle-like building that was used as Fairy Tail's headquarters.

They arrived at the location, seeing there was a stone wall with peculiar figures on top. They neared and saw that the citizens of Magnolia from long ago had made a monument for them. There, at the top of the stone wall, read the big words: _Fairy Tail: The pride of our city. They may have caused destruction, but ensured safety to the city._

Underneath that were names of the most recent, but most likely deceased Fairy Tail members posted.

On top of the stone wall sat familiar figures carved in stone. In the center was Master Makarov Dreyar and behind him was Gildarts Clive. To Master's left was 'Titania' Erza Scarlet, then Laxus Dreyar, and next to him was Gray Fullbuster. To the Master's right was Natsu 'Salamander' Dragneel, 'Sky Maiden' Wendy Marvell, and 'Black Steel' Gajeel Redfox. Each of the statues' face either had happiness, anger, or pride and courage.

Each mage was hit with emotion. "Magnolia really loved us back then. I can't believe they would do something like this to honor our memory. The amount of trouble and destruction we caused was something, but they loved us for who we were," Laxus said, seeming to be quite shocked, but didn't show it.

"We'll protect Magnolia again from harm. We'll show Magnolia that a small piece of Fairy Tail is back," Natsu's hands tightened into fists.

"Natsu's right. We'll show Magnolia that Fairy Tail is back from being dead for so long. We'll give them the destruction, the heroism, the pride and power of our bonds once more!" Levy added to Natsu's statement.

Though, the clanking of armor made them all look up to see that there were knights coming at them. Natsu stepped up giving a growl, "I'll take them. Go back to where the dragons are."

Erza was about to go against, but Laxus grabbed her by the arm and began to run towards the area where the dragons would be, the others following closely behind. "Release me Laxus!" Erza ordered.

"Sorry Erza, but Natsu can handle it. He won't lose to those knights at all now that he realizes that he has something quite bigger to protect. We'll wait for him where the dragons are," Laxus told Erza.

After that, Erza kept her mouth shut. _Natsu, you better come back to us. I promised you that I would live for the sake of my friends, so you better do the same._

"Lucy, will Natsu-nii be okay?" Tyson asked.

"Why wouldn't he be? He's all fired up!" Lucy gave Tyson a grin.

They continued to run down the half empty streets until they got into the forest and reached the clearing where now only one dragon stood. "Grandine, where's Igneel and Metalicana?" Laxus asked, finally letting go of Erza's arm.

"I cannot answer that question, but we believed that it was time that you journey on your own, now that you've been gathered. We promise that when magic is back, we'll come and visit," Grandine was about to take off and she added, "Tell Natsu that Igneel said goodbye and that they'll meet again one day."

Then Grandine took off and Wendy called out, "Goodbye Grandine!"

They watched and then the dragon was only a speck and then the dragon vanished from sight. Then, they turned to hear a rustle in the bushes, seeing Natsu with a couple of bruises and a cut. Wendy rushed over, beginning to heal the fire dragon slayer. "What happened to the dragons?" Natsu asked.

"They'll be back when we've brought back the world of magic," Wendy said quickly.

"At the moment, I believe that we should go hide at Natsu's house. I hid there for a month without getting caught," Lucy suggested.

They looked at Natsu, hoping that they could go there since the sky was darkening. "Fine, we'll go stay at my house," Natsu sighed.

Wendy finished healing and added, "We can go get those apples that me and Romeo were collecting also!"

"Lucy, since you know where Natsu's house is, you can go with Wendy and Romeo. Laxus will go also," Erza split the up group up into two groups.


	11. Someone Dead Because Of Natsu!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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><p>They all agreed to Erza's plan, Natsu and Wendy leading each group in opposite directions. "Natsu-san, what would we eat besides apples? It's not like we can go and shop in Magnolia at the moment, we may get caught and we don't have any money to spend," Sting asked.<p>

"We can go fishing. Me and Happy used to go fishing all the time and Gildarts would sometimes come with us also," Natsu explained.

There was a missed moment where Happy was supposed to agree by saying 'Aye!'

"On Tenroujima, they were fishing with Gildarts for food. Until Acnologia came and began to destroy everything," Erza agreed.

"It's a wonder how Natsu can stay still for such a long amount of time just to fish. I wonder how Gildarts taught you; you were quite active when you were small," Levy laughed.

They came across the house that looked the same, but there was over-grown grass and bushes in front. Erza looked a bit annoyed on the amount of grass and bushes they had to pass through and so in a flash, she had a sword in each hand and cut the grass and bushes fast. She finished and both blades were gone. "That's better," Erza approved of her work which had all the grass cut short and the bushes were trimmed.

"Well, welcome to my home!" Natsu smiled.

"Wow, what a house you've got, Natsu-san," Sting looked over the house.

"Me and Happy lived here long ago," Natsu told him with a long face.

"Salamander, don't be sad that your cat died. We all had our cats die," Gajeel told Natsu.

"You're lucky that you had a friend to travel with! I've been alone until the day I met Tyson!" Natsu turned to Gajeel.

"You probably didn't live your life in sorrow," Gajeel clashed his head against Natsu.

"Oh, I was alone, worried, and I was sorrowful. Someone died just to allow me to escape those knights!" Natsu threw back.

Then attention was drawn. "Natsu..." Levy began.

"...Let someone die," Erza finished, remembering her own experience.

"She convinced me that she would be fine. She said that I could do something against this non-magical kingdom. After I ran a bit, there was a scream in the air and I after awhile, I went back to see she was already dead," Natsu informed them.

"Natsu would never let someone die," Levy whispered quietly.

"When was this?" Sting asked.

"At that point, it was fifty years after I stopped using magic," Natsu told him.

"No wonder. You were powerless and trying not to get yourself killed," Levy just couldn't believe on what he said.

"Salamander, I thought you didn't want people to die," Gajeel challenged.

"I don't, but she insisted that she helped me get away," Natsu told him, his teeth gritted together.

Erza made her way to Natsu, bangs covering her eyes, hands were in fists. "Natsu, how dare you allow someone to die. You didn't want people to die and yet you allowed one to die. If someone wanted to die, you would've saved them and yet you didn't!" Erza gritted her teeth, tears fell, sadness and anger could be heard in her voice.

Natsu stood, looking away and his face showing sadness. "You, Natsu Dragneel, Salamander of Fairy Tail, allowed a person to die for you! What happened to saying 'Don't you dare die'! Tell me!" Erza demanded.

Natsu didn't react at all. Though, the others were in shock. "Natsu Dragneel, answer me now!" Erza demanded again.

"It wasn't my fault! She told me that she would be fine. I believed it. Though, now I can't change what I did in the past," Natsu growled and turned walking away, Yukino watched quietly and soon went after.

Erza walked away in the other direction, Jellal soon followed.

"Did Natsu just go against Erza?" Levy asked after both were not seen.

"He did," Gajeel was quite shocked since even he feared Erza's wrath.

Wendy, Romeo, Lucy, and Laxus came into the clearing and stopped, looking at the remaining members in a deformed circle. "Where's Natsu-nii?" Romeo asked.

"And Erza-san?" Wendy added.

No one answered for a moment. Erik appeared also, quite stunned. "What happened?" Laxus tried.

"W-We should tell you later. It's a bit too much to take in on what happened," Levy replied, clearly not believing on what she saw and heard.

After a bit of time and all that heard calmed a bit, they told of what happened which stunned the three. "Natsu-nii let someone die," Romeo murmured.

"I can't believe it. He won't allow one person to die for any cause," Wendy murmured.

Laxus said nothing, he only gritted his teeth.

Lucy couldn't believe the information she was just given.

"Lucy, is it true that Natsu stopped anyone from dying?" Tyson asked.

"That's right. He stopped Gray and Erza from killing themselves," Lucy informed him, still stunned.

"What surprises me most is that he snapped at Erza and walked away from the situation without getting beaten up," Levy said, kinda frightened.

"Salamander's gonna get it later," Gajeel told them.

"Perhaps, but we may never know," Lucy said, really worried now.

"They both ran off, I wonder where they went," Levy looked at both directions where the mages disappeared from, hoping to see any signs of either returning.

Though, there was a rustle in the bushes from where Erza left, only to see Jellal was coming through. "Anything?" Levy asked.

"She's standing at the statue we just visited. I'm not sure whether or not she'll be returning back anytime soon," Jellal sighed, shaking his head.

"Same here. He's sitting at the lake looking at his scarf," Yukino told them as she came through the bushes.

"I don't think talking to them would help the situation at all," Sting thought.

"We might as well wait for Titania and Salamander to come back," Gajeel grunted.

"I can go talk to Natsu-nii and Erza. Perhaps they'll come back if I talk to them," Tyson offered.

"No, we'll leave them alone. It'll be better if we allow them to come back peacefully rather than rowdy and start a fight," Levy made a decision.

"That'll be the best. Plus, both need to save their energy for the fight against the so called 'king'," Laxus agreed.


	12. Titania And Salamander

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

><p>The night soon came and neither mage had returned. "Hopefully they'll be alright," Lucy sighed.<p>

"They'll be fine. They are two of the strongest mages here," Wendy reassured her.

Over at the lake, Natsu lay on the grass near the lake, looking at the stars. On his chest was his scarf that was neatly folded. He was only half asleep, but the memories of fishing with Happy kept him awake. "It's not the same without you, Happy," Natsu muttered aloud.

Soon enough, Natsu fell asleep.

Erza stood, first looking at the stars and then at the statue of Natsu that wore an angered look. "I should head back and apologize to Natsu. He was right, it wasn't his fault that she died," Erza sighed and began to walk slowly through the empty streets that was once filled with merchants and people.

Erza got back to Natsu's house to see the lights on and a cheerful chatter. Pushing the door open, she could see they were all gathered, seeming to be enjoying themselves. "Welcome back Erza," Jellal greeted her from his seat on the floor.

"Is Natsu back yet?" Erza asked.

"No, I doubt he'll be coming back. He probably fell asleep already," Levy answered.

"If you're hungry, there's some apple pie in the kitchen. I know it's not as good as strawberry cake, but at least it's sweet," Lucy pointed to the kitchen.

Erza served herself a piece and joined the conversation.

* * *

><p>Conversations went on that night until they all fell asleep, but as Levy predicted, Natsu never returned that night.<p>

Tyson awoke that morning, seeing that everyone was asleep around him though there was no familiar pink hair in the room. Grabbing his sheathed sword and fastening it onto his belt, he left the house quietly and went through the bushes that Natsu disappeared through yesterday.

After a short walk, he came upon a shimmering blue lake. Walking closer, he could see Natsu asleep on the grass. He walked over, unclipping the sheathed sword from his belt and sat on the grass next to Natsu. Minutes passed and Tyson's head jerked to hear a rustle in the bushes, only to see that Romeo and Wendy came out. "Natsu-nii's been here the whole night, it seems like," Romeo commented as both young mages neared.

"If he sleeps out here in the grass, he could catch a cold," Tyson said.

"No, Natsu-san would be impossible to get sick do to his abnormal body temperature," Wendy shook her head in disagreement.

"Why would Natsu-nii come here of all places?" Tyson wondered aloud after Wendy and Tyson settled in the grass.

"Natsu-san and Happy came here and fished many years ago," Wendy recalled.

Silence lay over them. Wendy grabbed Natsu's scarf and returned to her spot on the grass, running her hand over it. Romeo came closer to inspect the scarf. "Did Natsu-nii wear that scarf when Fairy Tail was still around?" Tyson questioned.

"Yeah. It was rare to see him without his scarf," Romeo answered.

"This scarf was given to him by Igneel. It's one of the most important items to him. Though, it's been through so many battles that the dragon scales it's made with aren't broken," Wendy inspected it.

"I remember when Tartaros got ahold of Natsu-nii's scarf. He searched their entire headquarters for the scarf," Romeo laughed.

Wendy laughed at the memory as well, but Tyson only smiled. "So this is where you've been hiding at," They all turned to see Lucy with her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, Natsu-san is also here," Wendy told her.

"Gajeel is so irresponsible. He told me that the three of you walked out and he didn't even follow," Lucy sighed.

The three young mages laughed. "That's Gajeel-san to you," Wendy laughed.

Lucy came over and sat down with them. "Sometimes I wonder who's more irresponsible: Natsu or Gajeel," Lucy told them.

"I heard the story when Natsu-nii took care of Asuka once. It seems that he's pretty good at taking care of kids," Romeo suggested.

"I guess he is good at satisfying little kids. I remember when Natsu saved your father just for your sake," Lucy smiled.

"Natsu-san also encouraged me and protected me," Wendy added.

"Natsu-nii did take me in. He told me that there was no reason to cry," Tyson added.

"Gajeel hasn't done such a thing though," Lucy sighed.

"Do you think when we win this battle against the king, we'll create another guild?" Romeo asked, frowns began to fall on all their faces.

"Perhaps. Maybe we'll make an even greater guild than Fairy Tail," Lucy looked to the sky and smiled.

"Could I join?" Tyson asked, nervous that he wouldn't be able to.

"Of course! Who said you weren't able to join the guild? Our guild will be just like Fairy Tail: for the weak and strong, kind and mean, independent and dependent," Lucy gave a smile at Tyson.

Tyson smiled back, seeming glad to be able to join their guild. "But surely we won't call it Fairy Tail again," Wendy pointed out.

"That's true. We already had a guild named Fairy Tail in history. Perhaps we can come up with another guild name," Lucy agreed.

Erza came up to them. "Hey Erza. We were just talking about perhaps making another guild," Lucy greeted.

Erza said nothing, but stared at Natsu. Fear sparked in Romeo's and Wendy's eyes. Lucy realized what Erza might do. "Erza, don't do it. Natsu may have gone against your judgement, but he had to defend himself," Lucy tried to back him up.

Erza said nothing and walked forth towards Natsu. They watched as Erza sat down next the pink-haired mage. They waited for Erza to strangle Natsu until he woke up. "Erza, please give up on hthe idea of strangling Natsu," Lucy pleaded.

"Who said I was?" Erza questioned, throwing them all off.

They sat there in silence, trying to figure out what was going to happen. "Goodness, if we were to run a guild, I'm sure Natsu should lead, but most of us would have to keep him straight," Erza sighed.

Lucy laughed. "Natsu lead? I'm sure we'll all get killed."

"No, I still believe he should lead," Erza said.

"Well, we should go back and get some breakfast," Lucy stood.

Tyson crawled over to Natsu's other side and shook the dragon slayer awake. "Natsu-nii, get up."

Erza stood and looked out at the lake. "Why's Erza here?" Erza looked down, seeing that Natsu glared at her.


	13. Forgiven And Talk Of A New Master

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

><p>"I wanted to apologize to you. I shouldn't have made such a big deal on you not being able to save a person," Erza looked at Natsu, his hard gaze softening a bit.<p>

No one can save every person from an unneeded death and you're no different," Erza finished, offering Natsu a smile.

A moment passed and Natsu stood, giving Erza a small smile. "That's true. Though, I can save most," Natsu told her.

"I can agree on that," Erza gave a nod.

Lucy smiled, glad that it didn't turn to a bloody mess. "We should head back. I'm sure breakfast will be ready soon," Wendy told them and nods of agreement followed.

* * *

><p>Breakfast was served and they were all sitting, beginning their small feast. "I suggest starting a new guild," Erza spoke out.<p>

"A new guild?" Wendy asked.

"A new guild, eh? I would agree on the idea," Jellal gave a nod.

"Well, we are mages. So, to become a true mage, you have to join a guild," Lucy pointed out.

"What would we name it though?" Sting asked.

Everything went silent as they stared at one another, having no ideas. "Lucy, your a writer. What would you want to call it?" Erza asked.

"I don't really have any ideas," Lucy laughed nervously.

"We could go visit the old Fairy Tail library. I sealed it with my runes and put a magic cover so no one would know it's there. I'm sure it has some ideas," Levy suggested.

"How about Rising Phoenix?" Tyson blurted.

Gazes looked at him. "I like it," Yukino admitted.

Murmurs of agreement sounded. "It's a great name Tyson," Natsu gave a wide smile.

Tyson rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "It really was nothing," Tyson gave a small laugh.

"Don't forget we need a guild marker to show we're part of the guild," Jellal reminded them.

"That's right, but we also need a leader," Levy added.

"I think Natsu should become guild master," Erza immediatly said.

Laxus and Gajeel burst into laughter. "Salamander being master? You're kidding!" Gajeel cried out.

Laxus said nothing, but continued laughing. "What about someone like Levy-chan?" Lucy suggested.

"Me? Isn't the guild master strong? I'm not really strong. What about Laxus?" Levy shook her head.

Laxus immediatly quit laughing. "Hasn't Laxus tried to create a strong guild, but failed? He almost killed Gramps," Natsu pointed out.

"Erza-san could become guild master," Wendy said quietly.

Erza shook her head. "I don't want too. I'm not very strong at all. You all make me strong. I think Natsu should become guild master," Erza declined the offer.

"Natsu-san should become guild master! It's not an easy job at all, but you have friends to help you," Sting pointed out.

"Sting, wouldn't you make a good guild master? You did good with managing Sabertooth," Rogue pointed out.

"Nah. I'll allow Fairy Tail to decide who's guild master. I tried, but failed to take them down so I'm quite weak compared to them," Sting gave a sincere smile.

"Jellal, you acted like the guild master in Crime Sorciere. Wouldn't you be a good guild master?" Erik asked.

"I was a criminal. I have no right to be a guild master. I will join Rising Phoenix, but I refuse taking the position of guild master," Jellal shook his head.

"Natsu-nii would make a good guild master! He's got the courage to go against enemies and he's strong! He should be guild master!" Romeo pointed out.

Natsu didn't seem to like the idea of being guild master, but he kept silent. They all argued who'd be guild master until Lucy sighed and said, "Where's Master when we're trying to make such a decision."

That made the entire place quiet. "Lucy's right. We need to get a person who once was a master to help us make the decision," Erza sighed.

* * *

><p><em>Somewhere else; four ghostly people gather...<em>

"Makarov, it seems they're having a problem with deciding a guild master," One said.

Makarov said nothing. "You should help them out Makarov. They won't reach a decision without help," Another said.

"Mavis, what do you think?" Makarov turned to the woman.

She shook her head and said, "I don't care. As long as it's an excellent choice," Mavis said with a smile.

"Well, there's Erza and Laxus. They would make good guild masters," The first said.

"I know Bob, but I don't trust Laxus with the new guild and Erza may make the guild quite strict. What do you think Goldmine?" Makarov pointed out.

"I don't think that the former Sabertooth members would be goods choices nor will the criminals of Crime Sorciere even though both had some good leaders within them," Goldmine pointed out.

"So that leaves out Sting, Rogue, Yukino, Jellal, Erik, Laxus and Erza. I also suggest we leave out the younger generation," Mavis added.

"Yeah, Wendy, Romeo, and the new one, Tyson, out of this. That only leaves Natsu, Gajeel, Lucy, and Levy," Makarov sighed.

"Gajeel shouldn't be guild master. He's got quite the dark side to him. He's not very open-hearted," Goldmine pointed out.

"True. Levy wouldn't like to be guild master and Lucy wouldn't really be able to control the guild. So that leaves..." Makarov stopped in realization.

"It leaves Natsu as a good candidate. He's got a good heart and he'll have a good hold on everyone. I don't see him not being a good guild master," Mavis gave a smile.

Makarov was frozen, surprised that Natsu was the choice he ended up with. "Making Laxus would make a better choice," Makarov said, changing his mind immediatly.

"Number six, didn't Laxus try to forcefully take the guild over? He's hungry to have power. Natsu was never like that," Mavis pointed out.

"He's pretty powerful. He's easily one of the strongest in that group," Bob pointed out.

"He could probably take down Bacchus with a bit of an effort," Goldmine added.

"Number one, is Natsu the right choice?" Makarov asked.

"He's got the Power of Feelings, now doesn't he? He'll make a great guild master!" Mavis smiled.

Makarov looked over at the Blue Pegasus and Quarto Cerberus masters and they nodded in agreement. "Fine. Mavis, you can go and tell them then," Makarov seemed worried of what would happen to the guild.

Mavis gave a smile before disappearing.


	14. The New Master

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

><p>The others continued pointing out who would be the best guild master, but many kept silent during the arguement. A glow of light silenced them and a familiar person was upon them. "Mavis?" Laxus was surprised.<p>

"It seems that you are having difficulty deciding who will be the master of Rising Phoenix. So, I have come to tell you who number six chose as the master. First of all, we eliminated anyone from Sabertooth, Crime Sorciere, and any of the young generation," Mavis told them, making both Jellal and Sting thankful and Wendy and the younger nod in understandance.

"We have also eliminated those who had attacked Fairy Tail or would likely make this new guild quite strict," Laxus, Gajeel and Erza only stared.

"We had also left out the girls with brains, but aren't very strong," Mavis saw both Levy and Lucy look thankful they weren't picked.

Though, gazes were turned to Natsu: the only other mage that wasn't picked out of the race yet. "Which brings down all of you except one. Natsu has been decided to be the guild master of Rising Phoenix!" Mavis cheered.

No one said anything for what it seemed hours and then Tyson got up and ran over to Natsu, giving him a tight hug. "I knew you would be master! I had no doubts that you wouldn't have been one!" Tyson said happily.

"Why does Natsu get to be guild master?" Laxus asked Mavis.

"You don't know? I guess you all deserve an explanation. Natsu is not only powerful and strong, but also carries the Power of Feelings. I saw it myself during the Grand Magic Games. I've no doubts that Natsu will fail for this new guild!" Mavis explained.

"I told you Natsu-nii deserves to be guild master!" Romeo said.

"That's right, Natsu-san definitely deserves to be guild master," Sting agreed.

"Also, once you decide on the shape of the guild mark, I can get you a magic stamp for you. It'll be a gift for you all creating the first guild in ninety years," Mavis told them.

They all looked at eachother, having no ideas. Levy lifted a book, showing a good marker. "Perfect!" Mavis disappeared in a flash of light and was replaced by a guild stamp.

Lucy took it, seeming a bit excited. Smiles sprouted from everyone's faces, seeming to be excited to be in the guild.

After a bit of time, almost everyone got their guild stamp. Natsu, Lucy, Gajeel, Erza, Romeo, Wendy, Laxus, Levy, Sting, Rogue, and Yukino had theirs placed where they had their former guild marks once were. Jellal placed his on his lower part of his left arm in blue, Erik had his on his left shoulder in a dark red, and only Tyson was left to choose where he wanted his.

"Come on Tyson-chan! It shouldn't be so hard to pick where you want your guild mark will be," Levy told Tyson.

Tyson glanced around, seeing that many were visible where others weren't. "I want mine in orange and where Erza's is except on my right arm," Tyson gave his right arm over and Levy stamped it.

It gave a small glow was created and then disappeared. Levy removed the stamp from his arm to show the mark in orange. Levy placed the stamp in her bag. There were happy conversations going about.

* * *

><p>"So Natsu, when are we to get ourselves to Crocus?" Laxus asked.<p>

"I was thinking that we get going tomorrow. We rest and give ourselves a good stock of food to take with us today so we're prepared to get to Crocus," Natsu told Laxus.

"Natsu, I want to ask you a favor," Erza came up.

"What would that be Erza?" Natsu was wondering.

"I was hoping that you could rebuild Fairy Hills since most of us girls won't have a place to live," Erza claimed.

"What about a boys' dorm Natsu-nii?" Romeo asked.

"Sure, we can build it also, but we have to survive and win this battle first before we can do any building," Natsu reminded him.

"The upcoming battle in Crocus will certainly remind us of the battle against the dragons," Levy sighed as she wrote.

"Well, I guess we should start preparing for the trip," Wendy pointed out.

"Lucy, do you think we'll win the battle?" Tyson asked.

Lucy looked at him, surprised by the question, but then smiled, saying, "Why wouldn't we win? We've got some of the strongest members in the guild! Plus, we've got Natsu as guild master so he'll push us to continue fighting."

Tyson nodded in understanding and truly hoped that Lucy was right.

* * *

><p>The next morning came around, all the members of the new guild were asleep in different parts of Natsu's home. Natsu awoke early and crept outside, feeling the warm summer breeze blow lightly. Natsu knew that it was July fifth, two days before the day that Igneel left him and fourteen years after that; the dragons coming from the Eclipse Gate. He knew that was going to be the day when they arrived in Crocus and when they battle against the assassin would start. Natsu sighed and turned when he heard the door softly close behind him. He saw Lucy, a small smile on her lips. "Worried?" She asked.<p>

"A little. Just hoping we can get this battle over with soon," Natsu told her.

She stood next to him as they watched the sun. "I'm glad that you got picked guild master. I think you'll do great," Lucy told Natsu truthfully.

"Why didn't you tell me yesterday?" Natsu asked.

"You looked like you were having fun with Wendy, Tyson, and Romeo. It was fun to watch how you acted around them," Lucy gave a small laugh.

"I did teach them how to fish," Natsu said truthfully.

"You had an awful lot of fun when you teaching them too," Lucy pointed out.

"I'm hoping we win this fight. The last time I fought them, I got myself a few cuts. They're even tougher than the knights that guarded the other king," Lucy saw worry flicker in his eyes.

Lucy put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "It'll be fine. We're all here for you," Lucy said softly.

"Yeah, that's right; I've got to do my best for the others," Natsu said a little more cheerfully and added, "Thank you, Lucy."

Lucy gave a nod, knowing that he was less worried now.


	15. The Invasion On Crocus

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

><p>It was July seventh and at the moment they reached the outskirts of the city, knights began to chase them through the streets. "Laxus, take Jellal and Erza and prepare to jump on to the roofs to escape. Gajeel, take Yukino and Levy right at the next street. Sting, take Rogue and Erik and take care of the knights on the next left and continue to run down that street. None of you get surrounded by the knights," Natsu gave out orders, his nose working to find the knights.<p>

"Go now!" Natsu told them as they crossed the intersection.

Lucy was completely surprised at Natsu's strategy. Never did Lucy think that Natsu actually strategized. Though, Lucy noticed that she was left with Natsu, Romeo, Tyson, and Wendy. "Why are we left with those three? Don't you think it's dangerous?" Lucy asked Natsu.

"They haven't started attacking yet and they haven't at all gotten closer or farther from us either," Natsu explained.

"So you're trying to throw them off by sending other groups away from the main group," Lucy guessed.

"I want you to keep running with Wendy, Romeo, and Tyson. I'm going to stop and try to throw them off even more. Tell them also," Natsu explained.

Lucy nodded and fell back, telling the three young mages what was going to happen. They all made sure that they weren't going to run into Natsu when he happened in seconds and Natsu was swift to turn and send a giant fire ball at the knights, slowing them down. Lucy didn't turn to know that if the attack worked. They continued running, noticing that there were no knights around. They slowed to a stop, realizing that Natsu was able to throw off all the groups of knights. "This was all planned before we came. It was quite obvious," Wendy observed.

"That's why Natsu figured out their plan quite fast," Lucy thought.

* * *

><p>The sound of armor clanking made them turn from where they were running to see knights. "Should we continue running?" Tyson asked, hand on his sword.<p>

"No, we'll fight," Romeo had began his attack with his purple flame.

Wendy gave her enemies a wing attack while Lucy called Sagittarius with arrows being fired at the knights. Tyson used Erza's techniques as he fought off two other knights, remembering the hard fighting against Natsu. They gave attack after attack and then Sting, Rogue, and Erik came, helping to take them all out. "Where's Natsu-san?" Sting asked Lucy.

"We ran ahead as he took care of the knights chasing us," Lucy explained.

"Erik-san, you have the ability to read minds. Do you think you could reach Natsu's mind to figure out where he is?" Wendy asked.

"I can try, but his thoughts might not be able to give location," Erik told them.

They waited in silence and suddenly, knights surrounded them. "Natsu's with Gajeel..." Erik looked a little surprised, unable to finish his sentence.

The former Fairy Tail members gave a nervous laugh while Rogue and Sting seemed to remember something. "They're fighting eachother while punching knights as they try to interfere with their fight..." Erik managed to say.

"What about Levy-san and Yukino-san?" Wendy asked, quickly changing the subject.

"They seem to be with Laxus' group," Erik told them.

Lucy pulled out two keys and summoned Taurus and Scorpio. They all attacked, keeping an eye out for eachother. Though, it seemed that there was no end to these knights. Though, two familiar voices were suddenly heard.

"Lightning Flame Dragon's..."

"Shadow Iron Dragon's..."

"ROAR!"

With that, two mighty roars blasted knights away, but destroyed quite a bit also. "I thought we would have to fight until we're out of magic power," Sting sighed in relief.

"I guess you can say that you can rely on your guild master to come and help you," Erik gave a smile.

Natsu came running out of the dust and past them, making them all turn to see that Natsu was going to take care of others. He leapt into the air, creating a large lightning fire ball and they all began to run to escape the blast. They ran and ran until they heard a large explosion, causing them to turn around. "Even though he's become guild master, he still destroys things," Lucy sighed.

Natsu came jumping out of the dust in a defensive position. "Run!" Natsu turned, telling them.

"Natsu, don't tell me," Erik's eyes widened.

"I'm telling you all to get out of here! I'll take care of it myself!" Natsu told them.

Wendy fell onto the floor, eyes wide with fear. "It can't be," She muttered.

"Not that bastard," Gajeel's eyes widened and he gritted his teeth.

The dust cleared, revealing a well known dragon in front of them.


	16. Unlikely Team Up

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

><p>"Acnologia!" Laxus stepped back.<p>

"This is the dragon Natsu-san and the others couldn't defeat?" Sting asked.

"You puny humans. You think I came to kill you?" Acnologia boomed.

They were silent and frozen. Acnologia's gaze shifted to Natsu. "You. You're the one with the fire dragon slaying magic on the island I destroyed. What are you doing still alive? And the rest of you?" Acnologia's stared at them.

"You can actually talk," Natsu said very surprised.

"Of course I can speak! Now answer my question!" Acnologia roared.

"Acnologia, they were saved by Mavis. Leave them," Their gazes looked to see Zeref walking towards them.

"Zeref?" Natsu stepped back, away from the black mage.

"There's no need to fear me. I am only here to help take back the magic world that ended long ago," Zeref told them.

"Why should believe that?" Natsu challenged.

"We've been in hiding for long enough. We were just waiting for others to make a move," Zeref explained.

Wendy stood back up on her feet and confidently made her way to Acnologia. "I have a question. If you could speak, why didn't you at Tenroujima?" Wendy asked.

Acnologia looked at the girl. "I remember you. You're the girl who asked me to speak. You used sky dragon slaying magic. I'll give you an answer: it's because all humans are insects!" Acnologia simply stated with a roar.

Wendy didn't flinch, but she stood confidently in front of the dragon. Acnologia stepped back in surprise of her reaction to the roar. "I don't trust you two a bit," Natsu bared his teeth at the two. Acnologia opened his jaw to say something back, but Zeref held a hand up to him to stop the comment and said," I understand that you don't believe us, but it will be the best to bring back magic. What would be the point of taking over a magicless world with no one decent to fight. I'm sure if you hadn't met any of your friends, you would become bored of not being able to use magic."

Lucy stepped up next to Natsu, hoping to help Zeref and Acnologia get on their side. "Natsu, if you don't trust them, I understand, but if you don't trust them now, they'll become an enemy also. Remember what happened at Tenrou?" Lucy whispered to Natsu.

"But Lucy, they're enemies. We can't just allow them to join our side," Natsu quietly argued back.

"Wendy's right by Acnologia right now. In a matter of seconds in attacking Zeref and Acnologia, Acnologia will surely kill Wendy first," Lucy whispered back.

Natsu was silent for moments and then then he took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll believe you just this once. Though, as soon as this battle's over, you two are to immediatly leave the city," Natsu told them.

"You can count on it," Zeref nodded.

Zeref turned and walked back towards Acnologia and added, "I leave the castle to you. We'll take care of any others outside it. Be careful."

Natsu and the others watched as Zeref and Acnologia left them. "Natsu-san, we should start heading to the castle," Wendy came and stood by Natsu and lucy.

Natsu stayed silent, a small frown was on his face. Lucy waited for Natsu to say something for them to leave. "We better get going. We can't have Zeref and Acnologia saving us over and over," Natsu finally said, turning to look at the castle.

"Wendy, I want to to cast Vernier on everyone. Laxus, Jellal, you get a head start and defeat any enemies standing guard outside the castle. Erza, if you want, you can go also," Natsu walked towards them all the members of the guild, giving orders; Lucy and Wendy followed him closely from behind.

"Salamander, did you grow a brain?" Gajeel joked.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I always had one," Natsu countered.

Laxus, Jellal, and Erza left, using their high speed to reach the castle first while Wendy had casted Vernier on them all and they all made their way to the castle.

"Natsu-san, was that the dragon you couldn't defeat?" Sting asked, catching up and running next to Natsu.

"Yeah, he can't be taken down by dragon slayers. Me, and the other dragon slayers found that out the hard way," Natsu explained.

"I know, I just thought it was a normal dragon, not something like him," Sting explained.

"Are you trying to say sorry for saying that I couldn't defeat a dragon?" Natsu questioned.

"I guess, but what is Acnologia?" Sting asked.

"Acnologia is no normal dragon. There's two differnt theories: he used a bunch of dragon slaying magic and he was turned into a dragon or Zeref turned him into a dragon," Lucy explained.

The thought of becoming a dragon just because of so much use of dragon slaying magic dawned on the dragon slayers. "Please don't say that Lucy-san. I'd rather not think my dragon slaying magic can turn me into a dragon," Wendy whined.

"Maybe I shouldn't use so much of my magic," Erik thought aloud, knowing that he could read minds.

"Maybe I shouldn't have beaten up so many people with my magic," Sting gave his thoughts.

"I regret eating that iron last night," Gajeel thought also.

"You guys, don't think so negatively," Levy pleaded.


	17. Monster?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

><p>The larger team reached the castle gates where Laxus, Jellal, and Erza awaited them. "We took care of them Natsu," Laxus reported to Natsu.<p>

Natsu gave a nod as Wendy's Vernier wore off all them. "Natsu-nii, don't tell me we're storming the castle," Romeo said in realization.

"We have no choice. We're here to take care of that fake king," Natsu told Romeo.

They all stood and looked at the large castle. "Natsu-san, what if we get stuck in the Hell's Palace again?" Wendy said, concerned.

Natsu turned away, but you could tell he was smiling. "There's no way we'll get stuck and die in there. No matter how strong the enemy is, there is no way we're going. Plus, there's more of us this time," Natsu told them.

Smiles cracked from some of the members. "We better go. The sooner we save the magic world, the better," Natsu told them.

Nods and smiles appeared on everyone's face. They stormed through the doors of the castle and jogged through. "We'll stick together unless we run into an enemy," Natsu told them.

Though, the moment Natsu said that was when knights came at them. "Halt! You will go no farther!" One yelled.

"Me and Romeo will take care of them, Natsu-san!" Wendy said, both running faster and Wendy began to enchant for speed and protection.

"Be careful, Wendy, Romeo!" Natsu called out before their assault began against the knights.

A path was cleared for them and they continued through. "Natsu-sama, is it okay to allow them to be left alone?" Yukino asked, concerned.

Natsu turned his head as he had a smile and said, "I'm sure they'll be okay. If they survived being in Fairy Tail and ninety years with hiding, then there's no way that knights will stop them."

Yukino said nothing after that, seeming to have confidence in Natsu's judgement. Though, what they ran into next was a lone man with his sword sheath. He stood tall and his eyes showed confidence. Natsu went in tried to hit the man with a fist. The man dodged the punch and unsheathed the sword, bringing it down on one of Natsu's arms. Though, to the man's dissatisfaction, Natsu snatched hand back before the sword could cut it. The sword then came swinging at Natsu's neck, but before Natsu could do anything; he was shoved to the side and stumbled a few steps back. "Natsu, get out of here. I'll take him on," Erik had his arms covered in scales, blocking the sword from cutting anything.

"Impossible! I should be able to cut through anything!" The knight was surprised.

"Are you sure? It seems you haven't tried taking a dragon on single-handedly," Erik grinned.

"You sure you want to take him?" Natsu asked, recovering.

Erik gave a grin. "I'll do it. I'll try to catch up when I finished this guy," Erik said.

"I could take him on. He won't have a chance in getting through metal scales and I'll just eat his sword and finally catch up," Gajeel offered.

"What fun is that? He should be poisoned and feel the agony of a slow death," Erik argued.

"I could just burn him into a crisp instead," Natsu suggested.

The knight began to slowly back away, muttering 'monsters'. "Eh, you got a problem with us?" Natsu asked, hearing what he said.

"Y-you're all monsters. All three of you," The man said.

"We ain't monsters. We're dragon slayers," Natsu told him.

Gajeel's skin turned to metal, the scales on Erik began to show poison seeping through the scales, and Natsu's hands turned to fire. "Lucy, take the others and go. We'll catch up in a moment," Natsu ordered.

"I really didn't want to see how this fight ended anyway," Lucy said and began to run.

"How this fight was going to end?" The knight questioned.

Smiles cracked from the three dragon slayers, showing their canine teeth. " What Lucy meant by that was..." Natsu began.

A serious expression dawned on all the dragon slayers' faces. "You'll die," All three began glowing.

Gajeel was glowing green, Erik redish-purple, and Natsu red. Fear sparked in the knight's eyes. In a flash and in sync, the three came at the knight with an unbelievable speed. Natsu and Erik slowed, allowing Gajeel to go in first. Gajeel reached the knight and the knight held his sword up to block Gajeel's arm from hitting his chest. Though, Gajeel yanked the sword out of his hand and back away quick, munching on the sword. "Thanks for the meal. I really needed it," Gajeel took a bite out of the sword.

Next, Natsu went in, throwing flaming punches, melting the metal that protected his chest. He left the knight on the floor, his armor melted and burn marks all over. Natsu flipped over Erik as he went in to rake his poisoned claws across the man's chest. The metal scales disappeared off of Gajeel, Natsu's flaming fists disappeared, and Erik's scales disappeared also. They stared at the knight and then turned and ran, following the others' scents.

They soon caught up and Natsu took the lead.


	18. Escape

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

><p>Wendy and Romeo stood back to back, both glowing with Wendy's enchantments. "We're getting no where. They keep coming even though we keep taking them down," Romeo frowned.<p>

"I'll take care of most of them. Just don't get caught in my attack," Wendy warned.

Romeo made sure he was very close to Wendy so he didn't get caught in it. "Secret Dragon Slaying Art," Wendy paused as there was a large wind barrier forming.

Romeo remembered the move and Wendy continued, "Shattering Light: Sky Drill!"

Gusts of wind attacked the knights and when the spell ended, most of the knights were down. Romeo gave a small smile and began to attack the remaining knights. "Knights, get need to protect his Majesty!" Someone yelled.

"Romeo, I need you to go ahead and warn Natsu-san and the others," Wendy informed Romeo.

Romeo was about to counter, but Wendy began first, "I know you don't want to leave me, but I'm strong enough to take them. You need to leave and get going. I can hold them off while your gone. There's fresh air around here anyways," Wendy sternly looked at Romeo.

Romeo looked Wendy and the eye and nodded. "Be careful, Wendy," With that, Romeo made a run through the doorway the others went through earlier.

* * *

><p>Romeo stopped, seeing a body and a sword handle left. The sword looked like it had been eaten and the body was burnt and seemed to be poisoned. "It looks like Gajeel, Cobra, and Natsu-nii's been here," Romeo assumed.<p>

Though, what he didn't notice was a man creeping up behind him.

* * *

><p>The others went right into a large group of knights and there seemed to be an unlimited amount of them. "We'll have to clear path to get through," Laxus said, landing another attack.<p>

"It'll be no use. We'll have to get Salamander out of here," Gajeel said, taking on another group of knights.

"I'm on it! Loke! Taurus!" Lucy held out the two keys, making both appear.

After they greeted her, they began to clear a path to allow Natsu through. Natsu made run, muttering a quick thanks before continuing.

The large group kept the knights at bay, making sure that not a single one could land an attack. They used little to no magic to preserve their energy from tiring. "They keep flooding in! What are we going to do?" Levy called to the others.

"We could have one of us cast a large spell and then restore magic power in the center of our circle," Jellal suggested.

"Lucy will do it," Erza said.

"Wait! My biggest spell can only take out one person!" Lucy protested.

"I'll go all out for as long as I can," Gajeel volunteered.

"Why should it be you? Me and Rogue can use Unison Raid to get rid of them," Sting argued, taking out another knight.

"It's because Salamander didn't leave any of us in charge and my magic is closest to Salamander's," Gajeel told him.

"This won't be going anywhere," Levy sighed and then turned to Lucy and said, "Just order one of them to go Lu-chan."

"I guess," Lucy sighed and ordered, "Gajeel, just go. Get rid of as many as you can."

Gajeel smirked and melted into the floor as a shadow. "Who put Blondie in charge?" Sting asked.

"She's Natsu's teammate which makes her closest to Natsu," Levy countered.

No one dared to argue with that statement after that.

* * *

><p>Wendy finished off the knights, knowing that they had quit coming after her. She was quite exhausted, but not enough to make her stumble every step. She walked until she saw a body up ahead. She saw the man was already dead, but next to the body was a portal of some type.<p>

* * *

><p>Natsu ran down the halls, dodging spears being thrown at him. One in a while, he would throw a large fireball at them to either slow them down or to take many of them down. Natsu ran and ran until he ran through a large pair of double doors and he stopped after hearing the creaking of the doors closing. He turned, seeing the doors pound shut, stopping the knights from coming any farther. "Well, it seems you came," Natsu turned to the sound of the voice, but couldn't find its owner.<p>

"Don't worry, this will be a fair battle. I've ordered the knights on the other side of the door to stand guard and keep all of them out. Now, why don't you prepare yourself," The voice told Natsu.

A vision of a boy with black hair as he was chained to a wall and looking beaten up, had appeared in front of Natsu. Natsu gasped in surprise, veins popped out of his head as anger overtook his expression. "What did you do to Romeo? Do you have Wendy also?" Natsu yelled.

"I only beat the boy until he was unconscious. Though, there's another one? I didn't see a girl," The voice gave some thought.

"Return Romeo!" Natsu demanded, magic power seeped from him.

The voice laughed and replied with, "You'll never get him back."

Natsu jumped and used a fire boost to allow him to get through the roof. He broke through and saw a surprised man sitting on a throne. Romeo was behind him, chained. "You'll regret what you did," Natsu growled.

The man's expression turned from surprise and now wore a smirk. "We'll see about that, Natsu 'Salamander' Dragneel, Master of Rising Phoenix," The man told him as he stood, throwing off his cloak.


	19. Portal Room

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

><p>Gajeel had taken down about half of the enemies forces and now sat in the middle of their circle, regaining the magic power that he lost by eating swords that the group collected from the knights.<p>

Yukino and Lucy were using Loke, Taurus, Libra, and Pisces to take the knights out.

Laxus and Erik used attacks that could take out multiple attacks including roars and sometimes combining some attacks.

Rogue and Sting teamed as usual as they too, did what Laxus and Erik did.

Levy the liberty to provide defense.

Jellal used his different spells to attack the knights.

Erza and Tyson teamed up and their swords swung through the air as they went through one knight after another.

The battle was easy, yet hard as the number of knights continued to grow. Though, the small group of mages kept themselves together, hoping that the battle would end soon.

Natsu stood, waiting for a sign of an attack. The man had short dark blue hair and wore a very expensive suit. Though, Natsu didn't care if he damaged the suit or not, all he wanted was Romeo to be freed from being bound to the wall. "I have a question for you Natsu Dragneel," The man inquired.

Natsu kept himself from being to distracted by the question. "How did you manage to stay alive for so many years? Was it your dragon slayer magic that kept you alive? Perhaps a spell you or someone else cast? Tell me," The assassin smirked.

"Why would you like to know?" Natsu snarled.

"I'm interested, that's all. Now that I think of it, you could be a fake Natsu Dragneel. Just following what he would do," The assassin shrugged at another suggestion of his.

"If I were a fake, I wouldn't be so pissed off about Romeo chained to the wall! If you ant to know, then I'll tell you. It was Igneel, Grandine, and Metalicana who made me and the others immortal!" Natsu gritted his teeth, sparks began to come off of Natsu's fists.

"Hit a nerve, did I?" The assassin smirked.

"I think it would be proper to introduce myself. I'm Kyle Jupiter," The assassin identified himself.

Natsu gave a tug at his scarf, waiting for him to deliver the first attack.

Wendy went through the portal, finding herself in one long hallway that had doors. "Welcome, do you have a destination in mind today?" A robotic female voice asked.

Wendy looked at the doors, seeing that each one was marked with a place. She saw Crocus, Hargeon, Era, and even Sun Village. "Do you have a destination in the castle perhaps?" The robot voice asked.

"Is there a chance to see Lucy?" Wendy felt strange not putting the honorific at the end of Lucy's name.

A lacrima screen appeared, showing Lucy and the others fighting a large group of knights, but there was no sight of Natsu or Romeo. "Could you show me Natsu?" Again, Wendy felt weird not putting the honorific at the end of his name.

The lacrima vision switched to Natsu and the assassin fighting eachother and from behind was Romeo, chained to the wall. "Can I have the door that takes me to Romeo," Wendy said quickly.

"Certainly," A door began to materialize in front of Wendy as the lacrima vision disappeared.

Natsu dodged the assassin's attacks and tried to make a run for Romeo, but was stopped and pushed back by Kyle. "What's the matter Dragneel? I thought you were stronger than this," Kyle continued to attack, pushing Natsu back further and then Natsu's back greeted the wall and Kyle smirked.

"This'll be the end for you, Salamander," Kyle raised a knife, as the other hand pulled Natsu's scarf off and the knife went right for the neck.


	20. Save And Escape

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

><p>Wendy went through the portal, ending up watching Natsu's scarf getting pulled off its owner's neck and the knife getting aimed right at Natsu's neck. Natsu's eyes landed on Wendy and gave a smile, flames beginning to spark to cover his body. "You forget that I can protect myself," Natsu gave a smile.<p>

The man backed up quickly, Natsu's scarf still in hand. Wendy began to use her magic to break the chains apart. They released Romeo from the wall and Wendy began to heal the boy.

Kyle watched and went after them, but Natsu was quicker and gave a flaming punch at Kyle. "You dare get in my way," Kyle gritted his teeth.

"Wendy, heal him and then get out of here. I suggest going out into Crocus and hiding in the forest," Natsu said, giving a series of punches.

Wendy finished healing and brought Romeo to the window. She shattered it and looked over, seeing the fall. "You sure you want to take the chance, girl," Kyle was picking himself up.

Wendy casted Vernier and Armor on both her and Romeo. Wendy pulled Romeo over, both of them falling. Kyle's expression showed horror. Natsu gave a smile and said, "They'll be fine. Wendy might be a bit undeveloped, but her enchanting skills are quite good," Natsu had his fists on flames.

Kyle gritted his teeth and slammed Natsu against the wall near the window Wendy smashed into and jumped out. He looked over to see Wendy had disappeared with Romeo in the streets. "I'll get you for that Salamander," Kyle now used Natsu's nickname.

"How?" Natsu asked.

Kyle held up Natsu's scarf and placed it over the windowsill. "No, anything,but that!" Natsu began to panic at the site of his scarf.

"Quit struggling or it really will go over the edge and disappear into the streets of Crocus," Kyle threatened.

Natsu gritted his teeth and stopped struggling, watching for a place to attack Kyle without his scarf getting let go and lost into the streets of Crocus. Natsu finally made an attack on Kyle, hoping that pushing him back away from the window won't lose his scarf. Though, he was slow in doing so and Kyle let go of the scarf and it flew out the window. Natsu tried to grab ahold of it, but it flew out of Natsu's reach. Natsu turned and gave an angry gaze at Kyle. "You'll pay for throwing the scarf that Igneel gave me out the window," Natsu growled.

"I'm sure I won't," Kyle gave a wicked grin.

Wendy used Vernier to get through the streets quickly. She had Romeo on her back, still unconscious. She wanted to go and hide as soon as possible so Natsu and the others could find her. Though, what she missed was Natsu's scarf flying in the air high above Crocus.

There were barely any knights coming and the amount continued to go smaller and smaller and finally, the last few were taken out. "Where should we go to now?" Jellal asked.

"We could go help Salamander out," Gajeel suggested.

"I think we can leave the rest to him. We should get out of the castle now and meet Natsu on the outskirts of Crocus," Lucy said.

"Natsu can deal with a few knights and the assassin like it's nothing," Erza said.

Nods of agreement went around. "Let's get going then," Levy said and they went back the route they came from.

They reached the base of the castle and went through the town in silence. "The brat's near here," Gajeel sniffed the air.

"Wendy?" Levy asked.

Gajeel gave a nod. "We should go to her then," Lucy said.

They found her and she had continued to heal Romeo's scratches. "Wendy-sama!" Yukino called out.

Wendy stopped healing Romeo and turned, seeing the group. The group ran up to her and Romeo, asking all sorts of questions. "Wendy, what happened?" Lucy finally asked and the group went silent, quieting their questions.

Wendy began to explain everything to them and her story ended with getting here. "So Natsu's fighting the assassin finally," Laxus looked over at the castle and at that exact moment, the top floor exploded.

Attention was turned away from Wendy and now towards the castle. "What's going on now?" Erza asked aloud.

No one would know until Natsu came back.


	21. Salamander vs Assassin

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

><p>Natsu was filled with anger. He wanted to end the fight right away so he could go and find his scarf. Lightning sparked from Natsu and Kyle backed away, seeing that Natsu was getting dangerous. <em>Since when was he able to use lightning? <em>Kyle questioned to himself. Seeing that Natsu was serious, Kyle was going to end the fight now and kill Natsu for sure. "You shouldn't try to touch me. You'll kill yourself," Kyle warned, but it seemed Natsu didn't listen and attacked him, flame lightning fists.

Natsu watched Kyle fall to the floor. Kyle struggled back on his feet and whispered, "Explode."

Natsu saw heat roll off his fists, but didn't seem to to mind. He exploded and Kyle gave out a laugh, seeing the roof collapsing at the explosion. "I told you, now didn't I? You shouldn't have touched me!" Kyle yelled out and the dust cleared, showing Natsu still standing, clothes a little torn and a scratch mark or two.

"Impossible," Kyle whispered.

"Your magic. It came from a demon from Tartaros, didn't it?" Natsu asked.

"Why would you need to know?" Kyle asked.

"It's similar to Jackal's except your weaker and I don't need to eat the explosion," Natsu told him.

"No way," Kyle began to back away.

Natsu went after Kyle once more and Kyle stood, giving Natsu a punch. "You won't beat me with those weak punches," Natsu growled and backed off.

"This is your end Salamander," Kyle said and began to mumble words.

Natsu was confused, but then realized he was casting Urano Metoria. Natsu gritted his teeth, knowing that he had no way of blocking the spell. "Urano Metoria!" Kyle called out and Natsu was ready for impact, but none came.

Natsu opened his eyes, seeing Zeref standing there. "Zeref," Natsu whispered.

Kyle turned and stared at the black mage. "Another one of your friends?" Kyle gritted his teeth and went to punch Zeref.

The land hit, but Zeref landed on his feet again. "You don't know me? That's sad," Zeref sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Kyle asked.

"The black mage, Zeref. An enemy that been around for over five hundred years," Natsu said.

"Never heard of him," Kyle said.

"Well, may Natsu end your life here or else we may meet and I shall end your life. Natsu, Acnologia and I are leaving," Zeref said and disappeared.

"Thanks for the help. I never thought we'd be allies for once," Natsu said.

"I don't care about Zeref. He's probably no threat," Kyle brushed off the dark mage.

Natsu attacked the moment Kyle turned. The assassin smashed into the crumbling wall. "Lightning Flame Dragon's Roar!" Natsu roared as the attack hit the target.

Kyle set a bomb off from under Natsu. The attack was unexpected for Natsu and he didn't have time to guard.

Natsu lay on the floor, wounds covered him at this point and his clothes even more tattered. He ad Kyle had been fighting and Natsu was pretty sure he had enough magic for one more attack and to get out of there and hopefully make it back to his friends without collapsing. Natsu crawled back to his feet and lightning and flame surrounded his fists. "Secret Dragon Slaying Art: Crimson Lotus: Exploding Lightning Blade," Natsu moved his hands in a circular motion and hit directly at the assassin.

The assassin was now out completely and Natsu left the castle, making his way back to his friends, trying to stay conscious. He made it there and collapsed. Erza exquiped out of her usual armor and caught Natsu when He was falling. "Wendy!" Erza called over.

Wendy came over and Erza gently put Natsu down. "That's strange, Salamander's missing his scarf," Gajeel noticed.

"It is rare to see him without it," Laxus said.

"I'll go see if I can go find it," Jellal used Meteor and shot off.


	22. Heroes

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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><p>Two days later, they were back in Magnolia. Natsu hadn't awoken. They didn't find his scarf in the streets of Crocus, but they were being called heroes. Magic began to come back and the people of Magnolia began to make a guildhall for Rising Phoenix. Many wanted to join, but they said they could join once their master awoke. They had asked the people in Crocus to search for a white scaly scarf and return it to Magnolia and to one of the members for a reward of 70,000 jewels.<p>

A day later, as all the Rising Phoenix members were resting at Natsu's house, Natsu awoke. "You're finally awake, Natsu-san," Wendy greeted him.

Natsu saw that he was inside his house and raised his arm to grab his scarf, only to feel air. "Where's my scarf?" Natsu asked.

"It's missing. We're having Crocus on the lookout for it," Wendy explained.

"Oh, Natsu's finally awake?" Levy looked up from her spot on the floor.

"What's been happening around here?" Natsu asked, sitting up.

"Well, we got home from Crocus yesterday and we're being treated like heroes. Magic is coming back to Fiore, as it seems like. The city of Magnolia has began to build us a guildhall and we've been getting people requesting to ecome members," Levy gave an explanation.

"Why are you all at my house then?" Natsu asked.

"We don't have a place to stay or much jewels so we decided to stay here," Wendy explained.

"We also began to take requests. Erza and Jellal are off on one right now," Wendy pointed to the request board, seeing many requests posted on there.

"Where are the others?" Natsu asked.

"Probably in town," Wendy said.

At that moment, Lucy and Yukino walked through the door with groceries in hand. "Lucy-san, Yukino-san, Natsu-san is finally awake!" Wendy told them.

They quickly put the groceries down in the kitchen and went over to Natsu's hammock. "Are you feeling alright?" Lucy asked.

"We were very worried about you, Natsu-sama," Yukino put in.

"I'm fine," Natsu assured the two.

"I'm sure your hungry. You've been out for three days now," Lucy walked over to the kitchen and started to put away groceries.

"Sure am!" Natsu said.

Lucy laughed at his response. Romeo and Tyson walked through the door with a pair of sticks and rope and went over to the kitchen, placing down a bucket of fish. "You two are quite good at fishing," Lucy praised them.

"Well, we can have a celebration now. Erza-sama and Jellal-sama are due back today and the others will be here," Yukino pointed out.

"Your planning a party?" Natsu asked.

"We brought magic back, so why not have a party?" Lucy asked.

"It's not much of a party without you, Natsu-nii," Romeo put in.

Natsu got up and kneeled down to their level, ruffling both Tyson's and Romeo's hair. "You're both the best little brothers I could as for," Natsu told them, giving a large grin.

They grinned back. Levy looked up, giving a small smile. Lucy and Yukino gave a small laugh while Wendy joined them with a smile. "If only we could have a picture of such a moment," Lucy whispered to Yukino.

Lucy and Yukino cooked different foods for the party. Many of the members returned from where ever they had gone to. Though, Erza and Jellal returned and said, "There's someone outside wanting to see all of us," Erza said.


	23. The Future

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

><p>Without question they all went outside, seeing three massive dragons. "We promised to return so we did," Grandine told them.<p>

"I'm sure none of you want to be immortal forever," Metalicana looked at them.

"Um, Igneel, what would happen if you uncast the spell?" Wendy asked.

"You shall begin to age normally again. There will be no effects of the spell that will get to you," Igneel answered.

With that, they dispelled the immortal spell on them. "We must go, goodbye, Natsu, and the rest of you. I won't forget what you did," Igneel said, the two other dragons nodding in agreement.

They flew off, Natsu watching them until they disappeared. "They're gone again, Salamander," Gajeel walked up to Natsu's side.

"Maybe we shouldn't look for them anymore," Wendy came up on Natsu's other side.

"All we know now is that they're still alive," Natsu told them.

"Got that right Salamander," Gajeel agreed.

"Will we continue looking for them?" Wendy asked.

"Maybe we should stop," Natsu agreed.

"So, are we finally giving up?" Gajeel asked.

"We're not giving up, Gajeel-san. We've finally decided that we no longer need to search for our parents," Wendy corrected Gajeel.

"Come on! Our parents are dragons, they can take care of themselves," Natsu smiled.

They could all agree that the three dragons could care for themselves.

* * *

><p>The party began and they were all enjoying themselves. They weren't huddled in their small groups, but were in one large group together, sharing experiences and acting like nothing had happened at all. The party didn't have any fighting like a Fairy Tail party had, but it probably was because of the fact that this was Natsu's house and not Fairy Tail. They were having the time of their lives.<p>

* * *

><p>A week later, Magnolia finished the guildhall and the members moved their headquarters from Natsu's house to the guildhall. Many members began to join, but the request board remained full.<p>

Natsu acted as guild master, but always had fun doing it. Romeo, Tyson, and Wendy had formed a team and went out on missions. Erza and Jellal spent their time together as a team. Gajeel and Levy went out on missions also. Lucy and Yukino decided to serve people at the guild and took turns going out on missions. Sting and Rogue continued with their team. Erik and Laxus had even teamed up and went on missions together.

At one point of time, they all got together and a painting mage painted the group in several different pictures. There's two with them all, one individually of them, a picture or two of their teams, and several other random ones.

Natsu's picture was placed in a frame and hung in the hallway that led to the master's office. Natsu barely spent time in there. He was usually hanging out with various different mages, having a nice conversation with them.

They all knew that this guild was even better than Fairy Tail from the bottom of their hearts. Rising Phoenix did go above and beyond Fairy Tail in great lengths.

* * *

><p><em>2 weeks later...<em>

Someone entered the guildhall with a peculiar scarf in hand. "Where's the master?" The man asked.

"He's by the bar talking to the lady," A member pointed out a pink-haired man talking to a blonde lady.

The man gave a nod in thanks and quickly went up to them. "Are you Master Natsu Dragneel?" The man asked.

"That's me," Natsu nodded.

"There was a request to look for a white scaly scarf and I had found it," The man held out the scarf.

Natsu's eyes widened and took the scarf, looking at it carefully. "This is my scarf," Natsu said.

"Please wait here. I'll get you the reward," The blonde woman went away and returned with the money that would be rewarded.

"Thank you for finding my scarf. If I had lost it, I would've felt like there was a part of me missing," Natsu thanked the man.

"No, it's an honor to find something for someone like you," The man took the jewels and quickly left.

Natsu gave a large grin as he placed the scarf back on.

* * *

><p><em>4 years later...<em>

A boy, no older then ten, stood outside the doors of Rising Phoenix. He was nervous of what sort of tests he would be given and if he was too young to join. "What are you standing out here for?" A young man with pink hair, a white scaly scarf, a long-sleeved open shirt, and white pants asked.

The man was kneeled down and had a sincere smile. "I want to join, but I'm nervous," The boy confessed.

"There's no need to be nervous. I'm sure you'll meet great friends! Let's walk through the gardens in the back and maybe you'll get the courage to enter through those doors," The man reached his full height as soon as the boy nodded in agreement.

They walked through the gardens that lined the sides of the guild. They reached a part of the gardens that had the Fairy Tail monument. "Why did Rising Phoenix decide to place their guildhall here?" The boy asked.

"The master and many of the others lived in Magnolia before. Plus, you could say that Rising Phoenix raised from the ashes of Fairy Tail," The man told him.

"Weren't they originally from Fairy Tail?" The boy asked, staring at he statue.

"Not all of them. Some came from an independent guild called Crime Sorciere and others came from another guild called Sabertooth," The man responded.

"Do you know how to get into Rising Phoenix? Is there some sort of test or age limit?" The boy asked the man.

The man gave a small laugh. "What?" The boy gave a frown.

"Anyone can join Rising Phoenix. There's no tests or age limit," The man ruffled the boy's hair.

"How would you know?" The boy was now suspicious of the man.

"Because I'm Natsu Dragneel, master of Rising Phoenix," The man revealed himself as the master.

"No way!" The boy gasped.

"That's me right there by the other first generation of dragon slayers," Natsu pointed to himself on the statue.

"Can I join Rising Phoenix?" The boy asked hopefully to the master.

"Of course you can, I don't see why not," Natsu smiled.

The boy cheered and seemed really excited as he was given his guild stamp and began meeting the other members of the guild.


	24. Epilogue

_Rising Phoenix..._

_A guild filled with legends of earlier guilds..._

_The day when the era changed and magic returned..._

_It was determined that a shining star and salamander..._

_Had become the heroes that forever changed everything..._

_The salamander took charge on that day when fate rode his shoulders..._

_Where he gained help from friends..._

_That helped magic raise back to its original spot in daily life..._

_And shall Rising Phoenix forever more hold those legends..._

_Near and dear..._

_As that very guild was created to raise from the ashes of..._

_Fairy Tail_


End file.
